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\ 







GLOOSKAP STORIES 





“All at once Sunny Face resumed his own form.” 
Frontispiece. See Page 79. 










GLOOSKAP STORIES 


By 

JOHN HUBERT CORNYN 

%% 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

GEORGE VARIAN 



BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1923 













V. r \z 

.FfcOia 


Copyright , Zp2J>, 

By Little, Brown, and Company. 

All rights reserved 

Published March, 1923 

Gift 

Putolisiwfri 

Art & 1928 


« 


« 


* « 

«t «• 


Printed in the United States of America 


MAR 1 /] 



CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 

I. 

The Wigwam 

• 

3 

II. 

When Glooskap Smokes His Pipe 

5 

III. 

WUCHOSEN THE WlND-BLOWER 

• 

. 17 

IV. 

The Magic Waters 

• 

. 30 

V. 

The Quest of the Magic Bow 

• 

. 42 

VI. 

Otter Heart of the Enchanted 


Forest .... 

• 

. 80 

VII. 

The Magic of Glooskap 

• 

. Ill 

VIII. 

Little Thunder’s Wedding Journey 141 

IX. 

Why Animals Do Not Talk 

• 

. 157 

X. 

The Last Great Council Fire 

• 

. 173 

XI. 

How the Mosquitoes Came . 

• 

. 190 

XII. 

Six-In-One .... 

• 

. 198 






ILLUSTRATIONS 


“ All at once Sunny Face resumed liis own 

form ”. Frontispiece 

“All day they wrestled; for the Blower- 

of-the-winds was wondrous strong ” . page 25 

“ Otter Heart came out of the Enchanted 

Forest”. “ 89 


“Badger, standing on the trunk, severed the 

head from the body ” . . . . “ 124 


il They all met together, from time to time, 
around the camp fire ” 

4 

“The mosquito swept down upon the 
young warrior ” 


“ 158 

“ 194 





GLOOSKAP STORIES 








I 


THE WIGWAM 

These stories were told around the Wigwam 
fire in the long Canadian winter nights, by 
Baptiste, a French half-breed trapper; Rene, 
an Indian chief; lagoo, the wondrous story¬ 
teller of his tribe; and Orono, an Indian doctor. 
The Factor, his son-in-law, the lawyer, and his 
grandson, Little Pierre, acted as hosts of the 
Wigwam, which they had provided and thrown 
open to every Indian of whatever tribe or na¬ 
tion. I was there simply as an invited guest. 
That was years ago; but the echoes of these 
stories are with me yet. The heroes who 
marched grandly through them still march be¬ 
fore me, bedecked with all the glorious trap¬ 
pings bestowed upon them by the riotous im¬ 
agination of our own primitive America. I 
have sat again by the Wigwam fire, night after 
night, as I have transcribed these stories, echoes 
out of the past, bearing with them so many 
pleasant memories, and casting upon the screen 

3 


THE WIGWAM 


of time the actors in these strangely interesting 
tales of the great heroes of a primitive people. 

May the reader read these stories with the 
same unbounded faith and never-flagging in¬ 
terest with which I listened to them in my boy¬ 
hood; for they echo the faith of a race whose 
sun has already set. They embody the litera¬ 
ture and philosophy of a people which has 
already disappeared, almost in our own day, 
from the face of the earth. They are feeble 
lights shining in the darkness of the early his¬ 
tory of our own continent. 


4 


II 


WHEN GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 

The first touch of frost had come, as it often 
does in the north, some weeks before winter, 
and had painted the trees of the town, the wood 
and the forest-crowned mountain side with a 
bewildering mass of variegated colors, kaleido¬ 
scopic in their ever-changing vistas. Yet, with 
the night, every breath of winter had disap¬ 
peared and the dreamy, hazy October days had 
taken its place as though by right of inherit¬ 
ance. The breath of spring rather than of fall 
was in the air. The smoke above the moun¬ 
tains and the foothills alone proclaimed the 
coming of the Lord of Cold Weather. 

“ It is time to light the Wigwam fire,” said 
Baptiste, as he piled the huge logs upon the 
iron dogs. “ When the frost touches the face 
of Sainte Eulalie, then is the winter at our 
door.” 

“ Sainte Eulalie is a very pretty idea,” said 
the Factor, “ but I prefer to think of this season 

of the year as Indian Summer. It always 

5 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


seems to me more like a name that belongs to 
our own land.” 

“ Yes,” said Orono, “ it belongs to our own 
land. It is the season when Glooskap smokes 
his pipe and the smoke covers all the land.” 

“And what happens, Orono, when Glooskap 
smokes his pipe? ” inquired the lawyer. 

“ This,” said Orono, “ is the story my people 
tell. This is what happens when Glooskap 
smokes his pipe. 

“ One day when all the land was bright with 
the golden light of autumn, Glooskap sat far 
up upon the mountain side among the pine 
trees and smoked his pipe; and the great clouds 
of smoke rolled out over the valley and covered 
the earth with a dreamy haze. When the peo¬ 
ple saw the smoke creeping down the hills and 
over the valleys, they said: 

“ ‘ Glooskap is smoking his pipe. He is 
sending us the beautiful autumn days before 
the winter comes/ 

“ From his seat high up on the mountain 
Glooskap saw, far in the Northland, a great 
blanket of many-colored lights covering all the 
northern sky; and he said: 

The Maker-of-light is lighting his snow 
tepee for the winter.’ 


6 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


“ He puffed great clouds of smoke from his 
pipe; for he was lazy and contented; and as he 
puffed he continued to watch the light from the 
snow tepee of the Maker-of-light. The night 
came on and still he sat there, watching the 
lights as they grew from yellow gold into flam¬ 
ing masses of red, filling all the northern sky 
with a dreamy fire like a forest seen from afar 
off. At last he arose, put his pipe away and 
said: 

“ ‘ I will go into the Northland, to the snow 
tepee of the Maker-of-light.’ 

“ Glooskap, the great teacher, put on his 
moccasins of pure white doeskin. Ornamented 
were they with the colored quills of the porcu¬ 
pine, and on them were wrought the secret 
symbols that work great magic. When he 
wore these magic moccasins he could outrun 
the winds; could cross great rivers without 
fording them; could leap from mountain peak 
to mountain peak. Far to the Northland 
journeyed Glooskap, by the fiery light stream¬ 
ing forth from the magic tepee of the Maker- 
of-light. 

“ Three days and three nights without rest¬ 
ing Glooskap journeyed toward the Northland. 
Over mountains and plains, over rivers and 

7 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


lakes, he went; and as he journeyed he spoke 
to his magic moccasins, saying: 

“ ‘ Faster, faster, my good moccasins, for 
we are going to the tepee of the Maker-of- 
light!’ 

“ Faster and faster moved the magic moc¬ 
casins; and Glooskap laughed as they left the 
winds behind. On the fourth day he came to 
the yellow-painted tepee of the Maker-of-light, 
up against the northern sky, at the outer edge 
of the world. From the smoke hole of the 
tepee issued floods of soft yellow light; and on 
its sides were painted the magic symbols of the 
Northland. 

“As Glooskap entered the tepee a very tall, 
white-haired old man seated on a great white 
buffalo robe cried out with a merry laugh: 

“‘Welcome, Glooskap! Welcome to the 
Northland! ’ 

“ Filling a black-stone pipe with tobacco he 
offered it to Glooskap. 

“As they sat there in their fur robes and 
smoked, the Lord of the Northland told the 
most wonderful stories of the spirits who make 
the ice and the snow or ride upon the winds; 
and as he related his tales he hissed like the 

blinding snow, he groaned like the creaking 

8 


GL008KAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


ice; and he whistled like the storm winds. 
Then, raising his voice until it filled the whole 
Northland, he shrieked and roared like the 
many-toned voice of the tempest. And his 
breath blew cold and chilling like the breath of 
the Northern Sea. 

“At the sound of his voice came all the le¬ 
gions of the Northland, and they piled the 
snow high about the tepee and they forced the 
fearful cold into it, past its thick linings of fur. 
More and more powerful grew the spell of the 
magic of the Lord of the Northland; and 
Glooskap became drowsier and drowsier. Soon 
his eyes closed and he sank back upon the white 
robe sound asleep. 

“As Glooskap yielded to his powerful en¬ 
chantment, the Lord of the Northland laughed 
long and loud; and his laughter echoed far out 
over the outer edge of the world beyond the 
Northern Sea. 

“ For six long months Glooskap slept. 
Whenever the storm raged more fearfully than 
usual, he moved uneasily in his sleep. Only 
when the warmer days of spring came and 
drove the cold weather farther to the North¬ 
land did he awake. Then he journeyed to the 
Southland, saying: 


9 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


“* Faster, faster, my good moccasins; for 
we are returning to the homeland! ’ 

“ Faster and faster moved the magic mocca¬ 
sins; and, as Glooskap went rushing by, the 
lazy spring winds looked on and wondered; 
and the king of the eagles cried with rage to 
find himself left behind in the race. 

“ Southward, ever southward, journeyed 
Glooskap; and warmer, ever warmer the 
weather became. The leaves came again upon 
the trees, and the grass and the flowers sprang 
up as he passed. At last he came to a great 
pine forest over which floated the lazy white, 
fleecy clouds of the Southland. 

“ On the open land in front of the forest, the 
Little People of the Southland, the People of 
Light, were dancing and singing around their 
tiny Queen, who was dressed in garments of 
the most beautiful colors of the spring flowers. 

“ When they saw Glooskap coming they 
ran, crying out in great fear, to the forest; but 
he came so fast he was in their midst before 
they could reach it. Seizing the little Queen, 
he placed her inside his hunting coat. Then 
he loosened his magic lasso from his belt and 
allowed it to play out behind him, as he rushed 
backward again toward the Northland, 

10 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


“ The Little People caught hold of the lasso 
and clung to it; but Glooskap let it out as he 
ran, and left them far behind, though they 
thought all the time they were keeping up with 
him. Faster and faster traveled the magic 
moccasins; and farther and farther did they 
leave the Little People behind; so that, when 
Glooskap reached the tepee of the Lord of the 
Northland once more, they were still far back 
in the Southland. 

“ The tepee was just as he left it. The 
magic symbols of the Northland were still 
painted on its sides and the floods of golden 
light issued from its smoke hole. 

“ When Glooskap entered the tepee he 
found the old Lord of the Northland still 
seated upon his white buffalo robe, smoking his 
black-stone pipe, the smoke from which turned 
into the golden light that streamed from the 
smoke hole. 

“ ‘ Lla, ha, ha! ’ he laughed jovially. ‘ Wel¬ 
come, Glooskap, welcome once more to the 
Northland! ’ 

“Again he filled the black-stone pipe care¬ 
fully with tobacco and handed it to Glooskap, 
who took it as he seated himself on the pile of 
white furs. 


11 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 


“As they sat there wrapped in their robes of 
fur and smoked, the Lord of the Northland 
began once more his most entrancing and mag¬ 
ical stories of the spirits who make the ice and 
the snow or ride upon the winds. Again as 
before he hissed like the blinding snow; he 
groaned like the cracking ice; and he whistled 
high and shrill like the storm winds, raising his 
voice until it filled the whole Northland and 
shrieking and roaring like the many-toned 
voice of the tempest. Again his breath blew 
cold and chilling like the breath of the North¬ 
ern Sea. And, at the sound of his voice, all the 
legions of the Northland came and piled the 
snow high about the tepee and forced the fear¬ 
ful cold into it past its thick lining of furs. 
Outside, the spirits riding on the storm moaned 
and shrieked and whistled; and from far over 
all the Northland still other spirits more fear¬ 
ful than they answered. But Glooskap, 
wrapped up in his white fur robes, smoked 
calmly and listened to the tales of wonder, 
listened to the magical stories of the old man; 
for the glowing heat of the little Queen of the 
Southland within the bosom of his deerskin 
hunting shirt kept him warm. 

“ When the Lord of the Northland had fin- 

12 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 

ished his first wonder tale, Glooskap began, in 
his turn, to recite a story of the Southland. 
Wondrous sweet and soft and low was his 
voice. As he chanted, the summer-laden winds 
from the Southland came at his bidding and 
drove the winter hosts, howling with rage, out 
into the Northern Sea beyond the outer edge 
of the world. And the little Summer Queen 
within the bosom of his hunting shirt glowed 
warm as the sun in the far Southland. A 
pleasant heat like the coming of spring filled 
the yellow-painted tepee. 

“ The old Lord of the Northland, wrapped 
up in his white buffalo robe, nodded and nod¬ 
ded. Very drowsy was he; and the sweat ran 
down his face and dropped upon the sacred 
white robe. He Avas almost asleep when Gloos¬ 
kap finished his first tale of the Southland. 
But he roused himself and began a story of 
the war of the winds, a war of the raging tem¬ 
pests. As he chanted his tale, the fearful 
storms rushed in from the wild Northern Sea. 
From far bevond the outer rim of the world 
they came. Fiercely they blew; and so loudly 
they boasted and so savagely they howled that 
the summer winds retreated southward; and 
the little Summer Queen shivered within the 

13 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 

bosom of Glooskap’s deerskin hunting shirt. 
As the Lord of the Northland recited the fierce 
war of the winds, his ice-cold breath came forth 
like the flood of smoke from the smoke hole of 
his tepee, and filling all the tepee itself, fell to 
the floor as hoarfrost. 

“ But Glooskap smoked his black-stone pipe 
unmoved and calmly listened to the tale of 
wonder, to the wondrous tale of great magic; 
for the warm glow of the little Summer Queen 
within the bosom of his hunting shirt filled his 
heart with the warmth and beauty of the com¬ 
ing spring, from the far Southland. 

“ When the Lord of the Northland had fin¬ 
ished his second wonder tale Glooskap began 
to recite once more the glories of the South¬ 
land. Of the mystic dance of the Little Peo¬ 
ple he spoke; of the magic dance that called 
forth the buds upon the trees, the green grass 
upon the bare earth, and summoned the soft¬ 
est and gentlest winds from the far south 
that they might breathe upon the sleeping 
flowers and waken them to life again. As he 
spoke, the little Summer Queen danced for joy 
within the bosom of his hunting shirt; and the 
summer winds, who had followed the trail of 

the magic lasso, rushed in to join in the dance. 

14 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES IIIS PIPE 


They drove the howling, shrieking tempests 
back into their Northern Sea; and they blew 
warm upon the yellow-painted tepee till the ice 
&nd snow about it melted, and joining the 
hoarfrost on the floor, flowed to the distant sea 
like the rushing rivers of springtime. 

“ The old Lord of the Northland, master of 
the tempests and the cold, wrapped up in his 
sacred white buffalo robe, nodded and nodded; 
and he had almost gone to sleep when the ice 
walls of the yellow-painted tepee melted and, 
rushing off, followed the waters to the sea; and 
the soft winds of the Southland fanned his 
face, down which the sweat was running in 
rivulets. He sprang up in a terrible rage, and 
with his white buffalo robe still wrapped about 
him, fled into the Northern Sea. 

“ Long and loud laughed Glooskap as he 
watched the white robe and the flowing white 
hair of the Lord of the Northland flying in the 
wind, rushing with all his magic speed to keep 
up with his fleeing spirits of the tempests, with 
the mighty enchanters of the Northland. 

“ He thanked the little Summer Queen and 
the summer winds for their help in the great 
battle. Just at this moment, the Little People, 

who had been traveling northward ever since 

15 


GLOOSKAP SMOKES HIS PIPE 

Glooskap had tricked them with his magic 
lasso, arrived on the scene. They were over¬ 
joyed to meet their own little Queen and the 
summer winds once more. At once they begtm 
their magic dance; and as they danced, the 
leaves came again upon the trees, the green 
grass covered the bare earth, and the sleeping 
flowers awakened to life. Thus it was that 
summer came, for the first time, to the North¬ 
land. 

“ Leaving the land of the Lord-of-the-tem- 
pests in possession of the Little People, Gloos¬ 
kap journeyed southward once more. 

“ Ever since those days the Little People 
spend half their time in the Northland and half 
in the Southland. When they go south, the 
Lord of the Northland comes down from the 
Northern Sea and builds his yellow-painted 
tepee of ice on the same spot where the great 
battle between him and Glooskap was fought, 
the wondrous battle of magic. But when the 
Little People return, bringing the Summer 
Queen and the summer winds with them and 
melt his tepee, he rushes once more, howling 
with rage, across the Northern Sea, beyond the 
outer rim of the world.” 


16 


Ill 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

“ I shot a moose to-day,” said Rene, “ at 
the bend of the river, below the Cliff of the 
Wind-blower. His hair was thick and already 
turning light in color. This is a sure sign the 
winter will be hard and long.” 

“ Perhaps his hair was thick and white be¬ 
cause he had got too close to the Cliff of the 
Wind-blower,” said Iagoo. 

“ Why is the great rock at the bend of the 
river called the Cliff of the Wind-blower? ” in¬ 
quired the Factor. 

“ Because,” answered Iagoo, “ people think 
it is like the Rock of Wuchosen, the Wind 
Eagle.” 

“ What is the story, Iagoo, of Wuchosen, 
the Wind Eagle? ” asked the Factor. 

“ This,” said Iagoo, “ is the story of Wu¬ 
chosen, the great Wind-blower. 

“Away in the north at the very outer edge 
of the world-surrounding waters, lives Wu¬ 
chosen, the great Wind Eagle. On the top of 

17 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

a high rock he sits, on a rock stretching upward 
from the wide-extending sea like a great cliff. 
From his high perch he surveys, with far- 
reaching eye, the world of waters, the world of 
earth, and the world of sky. The blower of all 
the winds that blow is he, the maker of the 
storm and tempest. At his will they are lulled 
to sleep; at his command they rise to work the 
fury of their will upon earth. 

“ In the olden days Wuchosen was much 
more powerful than he is now. Ruler of the 
Great Primeval Ocean was he in the days be¬ 
fore the created land floated upon its bosom. 
Then he sent his army of winds rushing and 
roaring across the face of the deep; and from 
his high seat he watched them with great glee 
racing against each other with nothing to stop 
them, not even the tiniest head rising out of the 
great waters. 

“ Long after this the first land was built 
upon the back of the Great Turtle; and it grew 
and extended itself until it became a mighty 
island in the midst of the Primeval Ocean. As 
the great Wind Eagle sent the winds racing 
over the sea and the land and the sky, sent 
them to the north and the south, to the east and 

the west, they rocked the great earth-island 

18 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

like a tiny boat in a stormy sea; and the earth- 
sustaining turtle complained fretfully: 

Oh, master of the winds, have a little pity 
on me, the burden-bearer; for you rock my 
young earth so dreadfully I am in constant 
fear that some day it may slip off my back into 
the sea and be lost for all time. Much trouble 
had I in creating this earth, much trouble in¬ 
deed; and now, with your fierce winds rushing 
and roaring over the face of it and rocking it 
like a log on the storm-tossed sea, I am in great 
danger of losing it forever. Already my back 
is tired from the grinding of the earth upon it. 
Have a little pity on me, the burden-bearer, 
oh, Great Master of the Winds.’ 

“ Long and loud laughed Wuchosen, the 
great Wind Eagle, the blower of all the winds 
that blow. Flapping his mighty wings, from 
which the thunder and the lightning are born, 
he said scornfully: 

“ ‘ In the old, old days, Father Turtle, long 
before you made this island-earth, which you 
carry so proudly on your back, this earth that 
makes you look like a warty toad, I was the 
undisputed master of the Great Primeval 
Ocean. Over it I raced my winds at my own 

good pleasure. Then you came along and 

19 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

raised your obstructing island out of the wa¬ 
ters, right in the midst of my race course; with¬ 
out my permission or knowledge you built it; 
and now you complain because my winds rock 
it a little as they rush over it in their play. 
Drop this island of earth from your back and 
let it sink again to the bottom of the Great 
Ocean where it belongs. As for me and my 
winds, we were the first of all created beings 
on the Primeval Waters; and we are not going 
to cut short our sports because it has pleased 
you to raise up your ridiculous little earth in 
the midst of our playground.’ 

“ For years and years the great Wind Eagle 
and his sporting winds continued to rock the 
earth-island on the back of the Great Turtle. 
And as the people multiplied on the island, 
they were in constant danger of perishing from 
the fury of the tempests or the heaving and 
rocking of the earth. Many times they offered 
sacrifices, dances, and music to Wuchosen, to 
the great Wind Eagle, saying: 

Oh, Father Wuchosen, mighty pusher of 
the winds and ruler of the Primeval Ocean, 
have pity on us and do not blow us from the 
face of the earth or drown us in the deep! ’ 

“Long and loud laughed Wuchosen; long 

20 


WUCPIOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 


and loud laughed the pusher of the winds; and 
over ocean, earth and sky echoed his terrible 
voice. Raising his mighty wings, he sent the 
winds forth from underneath them with in¬ 
tenser joy upon the earth until the people fled 
in terror to a great cave. There, deep within 
the earth, they held a ceremonial dance to 
Glooskap, the mighty ruler of the winds of 
heaven; and they offered sacrifices to him, say¬ 
ing: 

“ ‘ Oh, great master, thy servant, Wuchosen, 
the blower of all the winds, has troubled our 
life so sorely that there is no safety for us ex¬ 
cept in this great cave deep within the earth. 
Remonstrate with him, great master, that he 
may permit us to return to our homes and live 
in peace.’ 

“ Very angry was Glooskap at the Wind 
Eagle; and he raced rapidly northward, wear¬ 
ing his magic moccasins and taking great steps 
over the earth which trembled at each mighty 
stride as though it were shaken by the fear¬ 
some sport of the playing winds. Over the 
earth and over the water he rushed, to the outer 
edge of the Primeval Sea, to the home of 
Wuchosen, the great Wind Eagle. High on 

his rock he found the blower of the winds. 

21 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

White was he as the snow of the north; huge 
his form as the clouds that encompass the 
earth; mighty his wings as the winds of heaven. 
Loudly he laughed as his far-seeing eye beheld 
Glooskap rushing over the earth-encircling 
sea; and he cried: 

“ 4 Welcome, Glooskap, master of the winds 
of heaven; welcome to the Northland! ’ 

“And Glooskap, reaching with his mighty 
steps the island home of the Wind Eagle, 
said: 

“T wish you well, great ancestor! ’ 

“And Wuchosen answered in a voice whose 
thunderous sound shook the earth, the sky and 
the sea: 

“ ‘ I also wish you well, master of the winds! 
Why have you made this long journey in such 
haste? ’ 

“ ‘ Because, great ancestor, you are blowing 
your winds so fiercely that my people are com¬ 
pelled to hide from them deep within the caves 
of the earth; and I would beg you to have pity 
on them and to blow a little easier, so that they 
may lose their terror and return to their 
homes.’ 

“Again the Wind Eagle laughed long and 
loud, saying: 


22 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 


“ ‘ Whenever I move my wings the winds 
rush forth. When I move them slowly the 
winds move slowly; when I move them faster 
the winds move faster; and when I flap them 
swiftly the tempests rush down upon the earth 
and cover the sea and the sky. Long before 
the earth was made and the people created to 
inhabit it I existed and the winds moved at the 
bidding of my wings, to whose shadow they 
come home to rest when thev have become tired 
of sporting in the sky and on the earth and sea. 
Before ever there was another voice to speak, 
I shrieked and laughed over the face of the 
waters and shook the heavens with my words; 
and now you come and ask me to forego what 
I have done from all time, because of these 
crawling insects with which Great Turtle has 
peopled his island. But I am the ruler of the 
home of the winds. I am he who makes the 
winds to blow. Such I have always been and 
shall be for all time. Without my winds all 
things must die. When it pleases me to blow the 
tempest then I shall blow it; for what matters 
it to me if men have to crawl into their earth 
caves when my children sport upon earth? ’ 

“ 4 Be a little easier with thy mighty wings, 
oh, great ancestor,’ pleaded Glooskap. 

23 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

“ Longer and louder than before laughed 
the great Wind Eagle, saying: 

“ ‘ What I have always done that shall I do, 
great ruler of the winds of heaven. Why 
should I tie up my winds before which the 
earth and the sea and the sky tremble and are 
afraid? Why should I do this when there is 
none mightier than I ? ’ 

“ Very angry was Glooskap at the boasting 
of the Wind Eagle, and he rushed upon him. 
Then began the mightiest of all battles fought 
in the Northland. From beneath his great 
wings Wuchosen let loose the winds and blew 
them into a mighty tempest such as had never 
been seen in the world before. Glooskap 
calmed them with the words of command from 
his mouth, and they sank down in slumber at 
his feet. The giant bird fought on with his 
mighty wings, from which rushed forth the 
thunder and the lightning. But they all, lis¬ 
tening to the voice of the master of the winds 
of heaven, passed him by unharmed. Then 
Glooskap seized the Blower-of-the-winds; and 
they wrestled there, upon the top of the tall 
cliff, up against the sky in the far Northland. 
All day they wrestled; for the Blower-of-the- 
winds was wondrous strong. But just as night 

24 



“All day they wrestled; for the Blower-of-the-winds was 
wondrous strong.” Page 25. 







































































WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 

came on he began to grow weaker; and at last 
Glooskap, making one more mighty effort, 
threw him and, binding his wings together, 
hurled him into the sea, from the height of his 
island home, saying: 

Stay there, Wuchosen, thou great boaster. 
No longer shalt thou send thy winds to trouble 
my people! ’ 

“ Well pleased, Glooskap hurried home over 
sea and land with mighty strides of his magic 
moccasins. Soon he came to the gveat cave in 
which the people had hidden themselves from 
the wild sport of the winds; and he called them 
forth and bade them have no more fear because 
he had tied together the mighty wings of the 
Blower-of-the-winds. 

“ Greatly the people rejoiced and they held 
a ceremonial dance in honor of Glooskap, who 
had delivered them from the tyranny of the 
winds; and they beat their drums, blew their 
whistles and sang their songs in praise of his 
mighty power and his kindness to them. 

“As the days went by never a wind blew 
upon the earth, in the sky or over the sea. All 
was so still that not a leaf moved upon the 
trees. Then the people began to complain be¬ 
cause there was no wind to cool them when the 

25 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 


sun beat down upon them with its fierce heat 
of midday. The clouds stood still in the sky, 
for there were now no winds to push them 
about. Still as the face of the land were the 
great waters of the sea as the warriors glided 
over it in their canoes. But the beauty and the 
freshness of the earth had gone; the sweet 
breath of the forest was dead; the waters of the 
rivers, the lakes and the Great Sea had begun 
to smell like decaying corpses. All the land, 
from day to day, became more and more like 
one great burial place. At last the people, in 
anguish and fear, cried out to the master of the 
winds, saying: 

Oh, great master of the winds of heaven, 
save us from the death that is upon us! Send 
us the winds once more that the earth may 
again become sweet and wholesome, even 
though we should have to hide in fear and 
trembling when they come forth to sport upon 
the earth! ’ 

“And Glooskap, paying heed to their peti¬ 
tion, journeyed once more into the far North¬ 
land, to the outer border of the world, to the 
home of the great Wind Eagle. 

“ He found the Blower-of-the-winds sitting 
silent and sad at the foot of his great island 

26 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 


rock. He was no longer the proud ruler of 
the Primeval Ocean. No longer he shouted 
his welcome to Glooskap from afar off. Sul¬ 
len and silent he sat, silent as the great North¬ 
land itself. Not even a word of welcome or re¬ 
proach did he utter as Glooskap stood before 
him. All ruffled and unkempt were his feath¬ 
ers; and old and helpless he appeared in the 
white light of the Northland. 

“ 4 This is the great boaster, the mighty ruler 
of the Primeval Ocean. This is he who blows 
the winds at his own sweet will because he is 
the most powerful of all warriors; the greatest 
of all enchanters! 5 Glooskap cried mockingly. 

“ 4 Why do you mock me now that I am 
helpless? Untie my wings and I will fight you 
once more, master of the winds! 5 exclaimed the 
great Wind Eagle in a mighty rage. 

4 4 4 1 have come to set you free and to 
put you to work once more, Blower-of-the- 
winds, 5 said Glooskap. 4 But you must prom¬ 
ise me not to move your wings too hard 
again. 5 

44 The Wind Eagle, looking up with sudden 
cunning in his eyes, answered: 

44 4 1 will be most careful, master of the 
winds, not to work my wings too hard. 5 

* 27 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 


“ But Glooskap, seeing the deceit in his eyes, 
said: 

“ ‘ Blower-of-the-winds, you are not true. 
There is evil still in your heart; and I shall not 
trust you. The wind and the clouds must be 
moved so that the world shall be pure and 
sweet and healthful; but I have no mind to 
have the earth swept, with your great tempest, 
into the depths of the Primeval Ocean. I shall 
give you freedom to work; but not the power 
to harm the earth or my people.’ 

“ So saying, he seized the Blower-of-the- 
winds in his arms and, carrying him to the top 
of the high cliff, he laid him down on the cold 
rock. Then he unbound the right wing of the 
great bird, and, fastening the left still more 
securely to his side, said: 

“ ‘ Master of the Primeval Sea, thou shalt 
blow thy winds as in the past; but only with 
one wing shalt thou blow them so that thy tem¬ 
pest may never be greater than the earth may 
support or man may bear.’ 

“ The great Eagle, stretching himself up to 
his full height, uttered a screech of joy that 
echoed over all the Northland; and flapped his 
one free wing; and the winds rushed forth from 

underneath it, over the sea, the earth and the 

28 


WUCHOSEN THE WIND-BLOWER 


sky; and at once the land, the water and the 
air became fresh and sweet and wholesome as 
they had been in the days before Glooskap 
bound the Wind-blower and hurled him from 
his island home into the Primeval Sea. 

“ From that day the people lived in peace, 
for the Wind Eagle was able to blow the winds 
only half so hard as he had done before.” 


29 


IV 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


Rene, who never missed a meeting of the 
camp fire, was absent one afternoon. Any of 
the other members might not have been present 
and it would have occasioned no surprise; but, 
when Rene did not put in an appearance, every 
one instinctively looked toward the vacant 
place near the door where he habitually sat. 

“ Where is Rene to-day? ” inquired the law¬ 


yer. 

For a moment no one spoke; then Orono 
said: 

“ He has had the rheumatism for several 
weeks; and this morning he set out with some 
pilgrims who passed through town on their 
way to the Well of the Healing Waters. He 
told me to say to you all that he will be back as 
soon as he is well again.” 


“ I have no doubt he will return completely 
cured,” said the Factor, whose Celtic blood and 
years of close contact and intimacy with the 
half-breed and the Indian had inclined him to 


30 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


sympathize with their feelings and to see life 
more or less from their point of view. 

“ Yes,” said Orono; “ the magic waters have 
made many people well since that time long 
past when Nekumonta went forth to hunt for 
them, and, finding them, brought them back 
from the high mountains in the Forbidden 
Land, to cure his people.” 

“Tell us the story of Nekumonta and the 
magic waters, good Orono,” said the Factor. 

And Orono began, speaking slowly and dis¬ 
tinctly as though reading from a book: 

“ Early in the fall the rabbit’s hair began to 
turn white and thick; and the old men shook 
their heads, saying gravely: 

The winter will be upon us soon and it 
will be long and severe.’ 

“And what the old men said came true, as it 
nearly always does, for they are wise from 
much knowledge. The fierce winds from the 
North sent their armies of cold and snow and 
covered all the land, so that the animals feared 
to come out. Day after day the hunters went 
forth into the forest; but no game did they find 
anywhere. Then came Famine with her red 
eyes and hollow cheeks, the thin ghost woman, 
and looked into the wigwams. And with her 

31 


THE MAGIC WATERS 

came the plague. Soon there was not, in all 
the village, a wigwam to which the call from 
the land of the hereafter had not come. Every 
day some one said: 

“ ‘ My brother is calling me from the future 
land and I must go.’ 

“And at once he set out upon the long trail. 
There was sorrow in every wigwam all the long 
winter through; and when the spring came, 
more than half the people of the village had 
already gone over the long trail, heeding the 
call of their brothers who had gone before. 

“ ‘ Now the plague will leave us! ’ exclaimed 
the people joyfully; 4 for the winter is gone 
and spring is here. Now the animals will come 
back and we shall no longer suffer from want.’ 

“ But the plague did not leave when the 
spring came bringing with it the animals and 
the plants. And so sore were the hearts of the 
hunters they did not care to hunt any more; 
for no one knew when his brothers might call 
to him to come to them over the long trail. 

“ When the beautiful spring days came and 
the air was sweet with the breath of flowers, 
and all the land was filled with life, the mourn¬ 
ful death-chant still rose from the village 
where the old men and the young men, where 

32 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


the mothers and the daughters sang their fare¬ 
well songs, day and night, day and night, never 
ceasing. No longer, as in the more fortunate 
days, did the people smile into the face of smil¬ 
ing spring. 

“ Very sorrowful were the old men, the wise 
men; very sorrowful the shamans and the 
medicine men; for they had tried all their arts 
and they had used all their magic and their 
medicine; and still the plague dwelled day and 
night in every wigwam. Already the children 
of Nekumonta, the Great Chief, had heard the 
call of their brothers and gone away over the 
long trail; and now Shanewis, his beloved wife, 
was hot with the burning fever; and she kept 
saying piteously: 

“ ‘ Oh, Nekumonta, my beloved, I hear the 

9 

voices of my sisters and my children calling to 
me from the land of the hereafter; and I must 
follow them over the long trail.’ 

“ Nekumonta went out of the wigwam sore 
at heart, and once more he called together the 
old men, the wise men, the shamans and the 
medicine men, and said to them: 

“ 4 My children have all gone over the long 
trail; and now my wife, Shanewis, is hearing 

the call of her sisters and her sons from the 

33 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


land of the hereafter. Try your medicines, 
your charms, and your dances once more, so 
that I may not be left altogether lonely/ 

“ The old men, the wise men, the shamans 
and the medicine men answered very sorrow¬ 
fully: 

“ ‘ Many times, O Chief, we have tried our 
charms and our medicines, our songs and our 
dances; and always they have been of no 
avail. We are helpless, for the spirits and the 
magic that work against us are greater than 
we/ 

“ ‘ Is there no way to save Shanewis and my 
people? ’ inquired Nekumonta sorrowfully. 

“ ‘ Yes, there is one/ said the old men, the 
wise men, very solemnly; ‘ but no one has ever 
dared to make use of it/ 

“ ‘ And what is this one way? ’ asked Neku¬ 
monta eagerly. 

Somewhere in the world exist the healing 
waters. He who finds them may surely bring 
back health to his people/ 

“‘And where are the healing waters?’ in¬ 
quired Nekumonta. 

Far up in the mountains, within the sa¬ 
cred land of the Manitu,’ answered the old 

men. ‘ Many have gone to look for them. 

34 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


Some have not returned; but those who have 
come back have come empty-handed/ 

“ Out of the council chamber rushed Neku¬ 
monta without a word further to any one. To¬ 
ward the sacred mountain he ran; and as 
he passed through the village the people 
cried: 

“ 4 Nekumonta has lost his reason from the 
famine, the sickness and the fever.’ 

“ 4 No,’ said the old men. 4 He has gone up 
into the sacred mountain to look for the heal¬ 
ing waters.’ 

“ Then through the village ran the news as 
fire spreads through the dry grass: 

“ 4 Nekumonta has gone up into the sacred 
mountain to hunt for the healing waters.’ 

“And all the people waited expectantly for 
his return. 

“ Up, up the side of the sacred mountain, 
through the pine forest, hurried Nekumonta; 
for three days he hurried, night and day, with¬ 
out stopping, looking everywhere for signs of 
the healing waters. But never a trace of them 
did he find. And as he hastened forward, ever 
the voice of Shanewis rang in his ears: 

44 4 Oh, Nekumonta, my beloved, I hear the 

voices of my sisters and my children calling to 

35 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


me from the land of the hereafter; and I must 
follow them over the long trail.’ 

“ Looking eagerly everywhere for the heal¬ 
ing waters, in the deep, dark depths of the for¬ 
est, under the overhanging rocks, in the dry 
beds of the ancient streams, went Nekumonta. 
But nowhere did the spirit voices tell him that 
there were the healing waters. 

“At last, on the morning of the fourth day, 
he came to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, 
into which no one had dared to enter within 
the memory of the fathers and grandfathers of 
the people. At the edge of the deep, dark, 
gloomy, forbidden wood he stopped. He could 
go no farther. This was forbidden ground. 
Yet perhaps within that gloomy wood lay the 
healing waters. They must certainly be there; 
for that was the home of the Manitu; and he 
had searched for them everywhere else. But 
to enter there was certain death! Yet what 
was death to him now that his children were 
already gone to the land of the hereafter and 
his wife was preparing to take the long trail? 
He would do what man had never before dared 
to do. He would brave death for the sake of 
his wife and his suffering people. 

“ Into the Forbidden Forest went Neku- 

36 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


monta, looking ever eagerly about him for 
signs of the healing waters. On up the steep 
side of the mountain toward the home of the 
Manitu he went, though he was weak from 
long running and fasting. When the sun was 
already near to his night cave, Nekumonta fell 
exhausted upon the earth and slept. And as 
he slept the voice of Shanewis rang in his ears: 

“ ‘ Oh, Nekumonta, my beloved, the voices 
of my sisters and my children are calling to me 
from the land of the hereafter; and I must 
follow them over the long trail.’ 

“ But other spirit voices chided her, saying: 

“ ‘ Pay no heed, O Shanewis, to your sisters 
and your children in the land of the hereafter, 
for Nekumonta has found the healing waters; 
and he wilhbring them back with him and you 
shall be made well again.’ 

“ Distinctly Nekumonta could hear the 
sound of running waters. Far below him they 
seemed; and as they hurried on unceasing, they 
called to him: 

“ ‘ Nekumonta, we are shut up within our 
prison house these many years. Open the door 
and let us out, that we may come and heal the 
people! ’ 

“ Nekumonta awoke and sprang to his feet, 

37 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


all his weariness gone. In every direction he 
looked for the healing waters; but nowhere did 
he see any sign of them. He listened atten¬ 
tively and he thought he could hear them ever 
so faintly hurrying onward, as they had ap¬ 
peared to him in his sleep. He searched for 
them. He looked for them within the forest, 
under the cliffs and the rocks in the depths of 
the ravine; but nowhere did they appear. All 
his weariness came upon him again; and he 
sank down upon the earth, just as he had done 
a short time before. Suddenly, once more, he 
heard the imprisoned waters calling, in a voice 
very low and soft, as though from afar off: 

“ 4 Nekumonta, we are shut up within our 
prison house these many years. Open the door 
for us and let us out that we mfiy heal the 
people! ’ 

“ From far down within the earth came the 
voices; from far down within the bosom of the 
earth came the sound of the feet of many 
waters as they hurried onward. Up sprang 
Nekumonta and began to dig and tear with his 
bare hands the soft forest earth. But soon he 
came upon gravel and then upon stones. His 
hands were already torn and bleeding; still he 

tugged at the stones with desperate energy. 

38 


THE MAGIC WATERS 


But tear and tug as he might, he could not 
move them. Jumping up, he seized the dry 
limb of a cedar tree and began prying under 
them. As he worked he could hear the impris¬ 
oned waters calling more and more plainly: 

“ ‘ Open the door for us, Nekumonta, and 
let us out that we may heal the people! ’ 

“ 4 I am coming! ’ he called down to them. 
‘ Have a little patience, oh, healing waters; for 
I am opening the door of your prison house to 
let you out ! 9 

“ Digging and prying with the limb and 
scooping with his hands the earth and stones, 
he at last burrowed his way through the earth 
to the underground channel of the healing 
waters; and they leaped joyfully through the 
tiny opening, tearing the earth and the stones 
aside and making it larger. Into the glad sun¬ 
shine they sprang lightly, crying: 

“ ‘ Thanks, good Nekumonta. Take what 
you will of us to heal your people! ’ 

“ Joyfully Nekumonta dipped his hands in 
the water, and lo, the scratches and the bruises 
were all healed instantly. 

“ Filling his water bottle with the healing 
waters, he hurried homeward down the moun¬ 
tain side. Fast as the wind he traveled; 

39 


THE MAGIC WATERS 

for the magic waters had given him magic 
speed. 

“ The people, who had been waiting anx¬ 
iously for his coming, saw him from far up the 
mountain side; and they shouted joyfully: 

“ ‘ Nekumonta is coming back. He has 
found the magic healing waters, for he is run¬ 
ning faster than ever man ran before/ 

“ From the hands of Nekumonta the medi¬ 
cine men took the healing water; and they went 
about from wigwam to wigwam and bathed the 
sick with it. Soon the evil spirits of the plague 
fled from the village; for they could not with¬ 
stand the magic of the healing waters. First 
of all the medicine men bathed the burning 
face of Shanewis; and at once she arose and 
said: 

“ 4 1 have had very strange dreams. I 
dreamed that my sisters and my children were 
calling me to the land of the hereafter.’ 

“And Nekumonta said, ‘ The healing waters 
of the Manitu are good for bad dreams.’ 

“And all the medicine men exclaimed to¬ 
gether with very great wonder: 

You have been, Nekumonta, into the 
Forbidden Forest, to the home of the Manitu?’ 

“And Nekumonta answered humbly, ‘I 

40 


THE MAGIC WATERS 

have been into the Forbidden Forest. I have 
been to the home of the Manitu.’ 

“And the people said, wondering, 4 Neku- 
monta has been into the Forbidden Forest. 
He has been to the home of the Manitu; and 
he has returned unharmed. Great is the magic 
of Nekumonta! ’ 

“ 4 Not so,’ answered Nekumonta. 4 The 
Manitu has had pity on his people and he per¬ 
mitted me to enter the Forbidden Forest; to 
go to his home and release the magic waters, 
the great healing waters.’ 

“ And the people shouted together: 

“ 4 Great is Nekumonta! ’ 

“ 4 Kind is the Manitu! ’ ” 


41 


V 


THE QUEST OF THE MAGIC BOW 

Little Pierre brought into the Wigwam a 
gaily painted bow which Rene had made for 
him. 

“ It is a magic bow,” he said. “ Baptiste 
says there are enchanted bows with which one 
can kill anything at a very great distance.” 

“It is made to kill giants,” said Rene 
gravely. 

“Yes; it is made to kill giants,” assented 
Pierre. “ Orono says it is big and strong 
enough to kill wendigoes. Is it not so, 
Orono?” 

“ Yes; a smaller and weaker bow than that, 
when properly enchanted, has killed wendi¬ 
goes,” asserted Orono. 

“And do you know a story, Orono, of an 
enchanted bow? ” inquired Pierre. 

“ No, but Baptiste does,” said Orono. 

“ Oh, good Baptiste, tell us the story of the 
enchanted bow! ” begged the little fellow. 

“ This is the story they tell by the Father of 

42 ^ 


THE MAGIC BOW 


Waters,” said Baptiste. “ This is the story of 
the Quest of the Magic Bow. 

“ Once upon a time, away back in the days 
of our ancestors, there lived an old chief who 
had a very beautiful daughter whom he loved 
better than anything else in all the world. And 
as she grew up to be a young woman he was 
very sad; for he thought: 

“ ‘ My daughter is certainly a very beautiful 
young woman and her admirers and suitors in¬ 
crease from day to day. I much fear she will 
soon marry one of them and go away with 
him.’ 

“As this thought was always in his mind, he 
grew more miserable from day to day. At 
last he said to himself with decision: 

“ ‘ No one shall have her. I will keep her 
with me.’ 

“ The Old Chief was a very great magician; 
and he determined to use his magic to prevent 
his daughter from marrying any of her suitors. 
He made a magic pair of elk horns and sus¬ 
pended them by a magic cord from the ridge¬ 
pole of his wigwam. Then he sent notice to 
all the villages round about that his daughter 
should marry him who could break apart with 
his hands the great elk horns that hung from 

43 


THE MAGIC BOW 

the ridgepole of his wigwam; and that with his 
daughter’s hand should go his own wonderful 
magic bow. 

“At this proclamation all the strong young 
men were glad and all the weak ones were sad; 
for each of the strong ones thought: 

“ ‘ Who is stronger than I? I shall surely 
win the Old Chief’s handsome daughter.’ 

“ Each of the weak ones grumbled: 

“ ‘ Why should the Old Chief make such an 
unfair contest? Is the strongest man the best 
hunter? Is he the wisest leader? Is it the 
strongest man who will have the greatest love 
for the Old Chief’s handsome daughter? ’ 

“ From all over the land came the warriors; 
came the tall men, the short men; came the 
weak men and the strong men; came the old 
men and the young men; came the ugly men 
and the handsome. Week after week and 
month after month they came. Yet among 
them all there was not one stout and strong 
enough to break in two the magic elk horns in 
the wigwam of the Old Chief. 

“ One day there came into the village a tall, 
handsome young chief. Unlike the others who 
had come to seek the hand of the chief’s daugh¬ 
ter, he did not go at once to her father’s wig- 

44 


THE MAGIC BOW 


warn to test his strength on the magic elk 
horns. He wandered about the village and no 
one questioned him, for there had been so many 
strangers of late that no one any longer paid 
attention to an unknown face. If any one 
thought anything about the matter when he 
saw a strange face he said to himself: 

It is another young brave come to try his 
strength on the Old Chief’s elk horns.’ 

“ The stranger sat down in sight of the Old 
Chief’s wigwam and began to eat from his 
game bag. After a while the chief’s daughter 
came out of the lodge, pitcher in hand, for she 
was going to the river for water. On her way 
she passed the young hunter, as he still sat 
there on the earth, eating from his game bag; 
and she thought: 

“ 4 Of all the handsome young warriors I 
have seen this is surely the handsomest.’ 

“ And as the maiden, tall and graceful, 
passed on to the water, the young chief said to 
himself: 

“ 4 This must be the Old Chiefs daughter; 
for surely in all the land there is not another 
woman so handsome as she.’ 

44 He followed her to the river and said: 

Are you not the Old Chief’s daughter, 

45 


<< i 


THE MAGIC BOW 


she whom her father says shall marry him who 
breaks apart the great elk horns in his wig¬ 
wam? ’ 

“ ‘ I am his daughter/ she answered; ‘ and 
whatever my father wishes, that will I do.’ 

“ ‘ Will you marry me if I break apart the 
elk horns ? ’ he inquired. 

“ ‘ It is my father’s wish; and what he wishes 
that will I do,’ she said. 

“ ‘ And would you care to have me for a hus¬ 
band? ’ he asked, with a winning smile. 

“ ‘ You are very handsome,’ she answered. 

“ ‘ That means I would be easv to love? ’ 

*/ 

“ ‘ Yes, you would be easy to love.’ 

“ ‘ Then I shall break apart the great elk 
horns,’ he said. 

“ ‘ I am afraid you will not be able to do 
that; for my father, who is a very great magi¬ 
cian, has cast a powerful spell upon them; so 
that, no matter how strong you may be, you 
will not be able to overcome it.’ 

My father, too, was a very great magi¬ 
cian; and I have inherited some of his magic,’ 
said the young chief; ‘ and I shall fight magic 
with magic.’ 

“ Back to the wigwam together came the 
stranger and the Old Chief’s daughter; and as 

46 


THE MAGIC BOW 

they parted at the door the young chief prom¬ 
ised: 

“ ‘ To-morrow I shall come and break apart 
the great elk horns that hang from the ridge¬ 
pole of your father’s wigwam and win his 
beautiful daughter and his enchanted bow.’ 

“ 4 1 hope you may not fail,’ she said ear¬ 
nestly. 

“ 4 1 shall not/ he assured her. 

“ Next morning the stranger came to the 
lodge and said to the Old Chief: 

“ ‘ I have come to break apart the great elk 
horns that hang from the ridgepole of your 
lodge and to win the hand of your daughter 
and your magic bow/ 

“ The Old Chief looked at him closely for a 
moment and said doubtfully: 

“ 4 You are neither very strong nor very 
stout; yet the strongest and stoutest hunters 
and warriors in all the land have come and 
tried to break apart the elk horns which you 
see there hanging from the ridgepole of my 
wigwam. If you try you must surely fail. I 
am tired of being constantly troubled with such 
as you. So if you fail I shall have the young 
men whip you out of the village with their 
bowstrings/ 


47 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ ‘ Nevertheless I will try,’ said the young 
warrior. 

“ He stepped to the middle of the wigwam, 
took the horns, one in each hand, snapped them 
in two as though they had been a twig, and 
handed them to the Old Chief, who took them, 
saying: 

“‘I am old and the light of my eyes goes 
out of my home with my daughter whom you 
have taken from me. Here, too, is my bow; 
for I no longer have use for it or the magic that 
is in it. 

“ Four days continued the marriage feast of 
the Old Chief’s favorite daughter. Then the 
young chief, with his wife, set out for his own 
village, taking with him the magic bow of the 
Old Chief. 

“ Scarcely had they gone when the young 
warriors began to say to one another: 

“ ‘ The Old Chief has not acted justly. It is 
not right that his daughter, the fairest maiden 
of the village, should have been given to a 
stranger whom no one knows. And it is still 
more unfair that his magic bow, which is the 
property of the tribe, should have gone out 
from amongst us. Who can say that this 

stranger is a chief, a warrior or a hunter? 

48 


THE MAGIC BOW 


Who knows if he is able to keep the daughter 
of our chief as she should be kept? ’ 

“ The longer the young men talked the more 
resentful they became. Finally Coyote, one of 
the rejected lovers of the Old Chief’s daughter, 
said: 

Let us go after them and bring them 
back.’ 

The husband, too? ’ inquired Badger, an¬ 
other rejected lover. 

“‘No/ said Coyote; ‘we don’t want any 
strangers in our village; and besides, if the girl 
comes back with a husband, no one can marry 
her.’ 

“ ‘ No, we don’t want any strangers in our 
village,’ repeated the others. 

“ ‘ Shall we not go after the Old Chief’s 
magic bow and his daughter and bring them 
back to the village? ’ inquired Coyote. 

“ ‘ Yes, let us go after them and bring them 
back,’ assented the others. 

“ 4 Let us steal out of the village to-night 
when every one is asleep,’ said Badger. 

“ 4 Yes, let us steal out of the village when 
every one is asleep,’ agreed the others. 

“ That same night the young warriors, 

armed as if for war, stole quietly out of the 

49 


THE MAGIC BOW 


village and hurried in pursuit of the son-in-law 
of the Old Chief and his young wife. Early 
in the morning they came to a river, on the 
bank of which an old man was fishing. 

“ ‘ Uncle,’ said Badger, 4 have you seen a tall 
young chief with a handsome young wife pass¬ 
ing by here lately? ’ 

“ ‘ Yes,’ answered the old man. ‘About this 
time two days ago they passed on down the 
river on this side.’ 

“ Down the river followed the young braves; 
and the farther they went, the wider it became. 
Very fast they traveled, for they were anxious 
to catch up with the young chief before he 
reached his own land, where his people might 
help him. 

“ Just at sunset they came to an old woman 
picking wild berries in the edge of the forest; 
and Coyote inquired of her: 

Aunty, have you seen a tall young chief 

with a very handsome wife passing by here 

latelv? ’ 

«/ 

Yes,’ answered the old woman; ‘they 
passed by here at noon yesterday, going down 
the river.’ 

44 The following morning the young braves 
were up before sunrise, for they said: 

50 


THE MAGIC BOW 


We must catch up with the chief’s daugh¬ 
ter and her husband before they reach their 
home. They must be near there now and they 
must surely reach there before night.’ 

“ So all day they traveled very fast; and late 
in the afternoon they caught sight of the young 
chief and his wife, still journeying on down the 
river. 

Let us keep them in sight,’ said Coyote. 
4 If they camp for the night, we can fall upon 
them in the dark; but if they cross the river to 
go into the land of the Crows, we can easily 
shoot the husband.’ 

That’s a good plan,’ agreed Badger ; 4 but 
we must kill him before he catches sight of us; 
for he has the Old Chief’s magic bow; and that 
is well worth a hundred men.’ 

44 Soon the young chief and his wife pitched 
their camp for the night; and when it was dark 
the young braves fell upon them and, killing 
the husband, took the Old Chief’s daughter 
and the magic bow. As they had dressed and 
painted themselves like a party of Crows on 
the warpath, the young woman did not know 
they were braves from her own village. 

44 One of the warriors guarded her while the 

others held a council to decide what to do with 

51 


THE MAGIC BOW 


her; for now that they had her, they were 
afraid of the anger of the Old Chief. 

“ 4 You may have her for wife, Badger,’ said 
Coyote. 

“ 4 No,’ said Badger; 4 she never liked me; 
besides, you were the first to think of going 
after her and bringing her back to the village.’ 

4 4 4 Let us take her to the land of the Crows,’ 
suggested Coyote, 4 and let her escape to one 
of their villages. There are many young men 
there who have tried to win her hand; and they 
will not allow her to get back home.’ 

4 4 4 Yes, let us take her to the land of the 
Crows,’ agreed the others. 

44 They took her to the land of the Crows; 
and there they camped for the night in the 
edge of the forest, in sight of a village. That 
night they placed her between two warriors, as 
was their custom in guarding prisoners; for 
they had not bound her hands out of respect 
for the fact that she was the daughter of their 
chief; and she, finding, as she thought, both her 
guards asleep, stole quietly out of the encamp¬ 
ment and made her way to the Crow village. 
There she learned that no Crows had been on 
the warpath and that none of them had been 

out of the village that day or out of any other 

52 


THE MAGIC BOW 


Crow village, owing to the great spring dance 
which was being celebrated everywhere 
throughout the land of the Crows. She said 
to herself: 

“ ‘ Surely these men who killed my husband 
must have been the young braves from our own 
village; and they must have followed us for the 
magic bow of my father.’ 

“ The more she thought of it, the more sure 
she was that among the attacking party were 
Coyote and Badger. 

“ When the chief of the Crows learned from 
the Old Chief’s daughter how her husband had 
been killed, he said: 

“ £ I will go with my warriors and avenge 
his death.’ 

“ But the Chief’s daughter answered, 4 1 
will not make war upon my people to be re¬ 
venged upon the slayer of my husband. Some 
day I shall find his murderers; and then they 
shall know that I am my father’s daughter. If 
you will let me, I will stay here; for I do 
not care to go back home and live among my 
enemies.’ 

“ 4 Yes, stay with us,’ said the chief. 

“ 4 Yes, stay with us,’ repeated the young 
warriors. 


53 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ So the Old Chief’s daughter made her 
home among the Crows. In time she married 
a son of the chief. But she never forgot her 
first husband; and as soon as her young son 
was able to understand, she told him the story 
of his father’s death; many times she repeated 
it; and always, when she had finished her tale, 
she said: 

“ ‘ Some day, my son, you will go to the land 
of your grandfather; and there you will find 
the murderers of your father, and you will pay 
them back for what they have done; and you 
will get your father’s magic knife and your 
grandfather’s magic bow.’ 

“ And the little fellow promised: 

“ ‘ Mother, when I am big enough, I will 
surely find the murderers of my father; and I 
will pay them back for what they have done to 
him; and take from them the magic knife of 
my father and the magic bow of my grand¬ 
father.’ 

“As the little grandson of the Old Chief 
grew up every one called him Sunny Face be¬ 
cause he smiled so often and was always good- 
natured. But though he wore a smiling face 
there was often a very black shadow in his 
heart, when he thought of the death of his fa- 

54 


THE MAGIC BOW 


ther and the theft of the magic bow of his 
grandfather; and he longed for the day when 
he should be old and big enough to go and find 
the murderers. 

“At last the time came when Sunny Face 
had to perform the religious fast preparatory 
to becoming a young warrior. Alone he went 
up into the mountains. Four days he fasted, 
and on the night of the fourth day the Great 
Thunder Bird came down to him out of the 
clouds on the heights and said: 

Sunny Face, go a little farther up the 
mountain, and there you will find a spring. 
Bathe in it, and you will receive the strength, 
the wisdom and the cunning you pray for. 
Take this spear and dip it in the waters, too, 
so that it may receive their magic virtue.’ 

“ Sunny Face went on up the mountain side; 
and there he found a wonderfully clear pool 
formed by a spring under a great overhanging 
rock. He stripped off his clothes and bathed 
in it; and at once he felt himself grown strong 
and wise. When he had dipped the spear of 
the Great Thunder Bird in the water, it be¬ 
came like a thing of fire in his hands. He 
hurled it against a great rock, and the rock 
split in two with a noise like thunder. 

55 • 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“Joyfully Sunny Face went on his way 
home; and when he reached the wigwam his 
mother said: 

“ 4 My son, did you see the spirits? ’ 

“ And he answered, 4 No, Mother; but I met 
the Great Thunder Bird.’ 

“And the mother said, 4 Why, that is the 
greatest of all the spirits; for he dwells in the 
sky-land or the earth-land, as he pleases; and 
when he speaks his voice is heard from moun¬ 
tain peak to mountain peak and from hill to 
valley. What gift have you, my son, from the 
Great Thunder Bird? ’ 

“ 4 He has given me this spear,’ said Sunny 
Face. 

And what can you do with it? ’ inquired 
his mother. 

4 4 4 I can split rocks with it,’ answered Sunny 
Face. 

44 He threw the spear against a great rock 
and it split into many pieces. 

4 4 4 That is indeed a wonderful spear!’ ex¬ 
claimed the Old Chief’s daughter. 4 What else 
can you do with it? ’ 

44 Sunny Face threw the spear into the long 
grass and it set the prairie on fire. Again it 
returned to him. 


56 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ ‘ That is indeed a very wonderful spear/ 
said his mother. ‘ With it you will be able to 
meet the magic of the murderers of your father 
and bring back the magic bow of your grand¬ 
father/ 

“ ‘ I shall set out to-morrow to find them/ 
said the boy. 

“As Sunny Face bade his mother good-by 
the following morning, she said: 

My son, be careful; for the men you are 
going against are cunning and strong. One of 
them has the magic bow of your grandfather. 
You will know it, for it is as red as blood; and 
it is longer by half than most bows; for your 
grandfather was a very tall and powerful man. 
They also have your father’s magic knife, on 
the handle of which are carved mystic symbols. 
When you see the bow and the knife you will 
know that you have found the murderers of 
your father.’ 

“ ‘ I will be very careful, Mother/ said 
Sunny Face. 4 No one shall know I am the 
grandson of the Old Chief, your father.’ 

44 For four days Sunny Face traveled by 
day and rested by night; and on the evening of 
the fourth day he came to the land of his 
grandfather. He knew it at once, though he 

57 


THE MAGIC BOW 


had never seen it; for his mother had described 

it as a great flat country bordering on a mighty 

river along which were many plantations of 

corn, beans and squashes; while beyond the 

river was a dark forest of verv old and tall 

«/ 

trees. From the rough bark of these great 
trees the wigwams were built. For his grand¬ 
father was chief of the forest people. 

“ Sunny Face’s mother had been careful to 
teach him the language of her own village; for 
she said to herself: 

“ ‘ Some day he will find the murderers of 
his father and punish them and become the 
great chief of my people.’ 

“ Sunny Face went boldly down through the 
great flat country toward the village of his 
grandfather. Speaking the tongue of his peo¬ 
ple he knew he would be welcomed, for his 
grandfather was Great Chief of all the villages 
speaking his language. Down along the river 
bank went Sunny Face until he reached the 
village; and there he came upon a woman by 
the river at the same place where his father had 
met his mother twenty years before. She was 
middle-aged; and he saluted her pleasantly, 
saying: 

“ ‘ Good morning, Aunty.’ 

58 


THE MAGIC BOW 


Good morning, son,’ she answered, look¬ 
ing at him with a surprised and puzzled ex¬ 
pression. 

You cannot be the young hunter who 
broke apart the magic elk horns of the Old 
Chief and married his daughter,’ she ex¬ 
claimed, 4 for that was many years ago and you 
are but a boy. But you look like him. Per¬ 
haps you are his younger brother? ’ 

“ 4 I am a stranger here and have never been 
in this part of the country before,’ said Sunny 
Face. 4 Will you not tell me the story of the 
chief who broke apart the magic deer horns of 
the Old Chief and married his daughter? ’ 

44 4 But you speak the language of our peo¬ 
ple ! ’ said the woman. 

44 4 Yes, I belong to your people. But I 
come from a village far down the river, and I 
should like to know all about my cousins,’ he 
said with a smile. 4 So please tell me about the 
young chief who married the Old Chief’s 
daughter.’ 

44 The woman related to him the tradition of 
his father and his mother, as it was still told in 
the village. 

44 When she had finished, Sunny Face in¬ 
quired: 


59 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ ‘ What became of the young chief and his 
wife? Have they not returned to visit the 
village? ’ 

“ ‘ No,’ said the woman, looking about her 
fearfully. Then she added, almost in a whis¬ 
per: 

“ ‘ They say here in the village that the 
young men followed them and killed them both 
because of the magic bow the Old Chief gave 
the young chief, his son-in-law.’ 

“‘Did they get the magic bow?’ inquired 
Sunny Face with interest. 

“ ‘ Yes,’ said the woman. ‘ Coyote has the 
bow; and because of it he has become the great¬ 
est of all warriors and the most skilful of 
hunters. He is now the great chief of all the 
villages. It is because he has this bow that the 
people say he killed the young hunter with his 
own hands.’ 

And what do you think, Aunty? ’ asked 
Sunny Face. 

“ 4 1 do not know,’ she answered. 4 It may 
have been Coyote who killed him; or it may 
have been Badger.’ 

And why do you think it may have been 
Badger? ’ 

Because ever since the young men re- 

60 


THE MAGIC BOW 


turned, twenty years ago, from following, as 
the people say, the Old Chief’s daughter and 
her husband, Badger has worn a long bone 
knife on the handle of which are magic sym¬ 
bols ; and it is like the one the young chief had 
when he tore apart the magic elk horns in the 
wigwam of the chief. It is this knife, with its 
mystic symbols, so every one says, that has 
given him such wonderful power in magic 
and made him the greatest of all medicine 
men.’ 

“ 4 Thank you, Aunty. You are a very good 
story-teller,’ said Sunny Face. 4 Did you 
know the Old Chief’s daughter ? 9 

44 4 She was my sister,’ said the woman; 4 and 
I loved her very much. This is why I hate 
Coyote and Badger.’ 

44 She looked about fearfully. 

44 4 1 had not meant to say that,’ she said. 
4 But you are so like the handsome young chief, 
my sister’s husband, that I forgot myself for 
a moment when I thought of him. You will 
not tell them, for they would kill me as they 
killed them both.’ 

4 4 4 You need not fear,’ said Sunny Face. 
4 For that young chief was my father; and you 

must be in truth my aunt.’ 

61 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ 4 You must not go into the village, for they 
will surely recognize you, you are so much like 
your father/ said the aunt. 

“ 4 But I must go into the village/ protested 
Sunny Face. 4 I have come here to know my 
people and to punish the murderers of my 
father/ 

44 4 Then wait until it is night. As there is 
no moon now, it is very dark. I will come here 
for you and take you into the village and hide 
you in our wigwam. There you will meet your 
grandfather, who will be very glad to see you; 
and he will tell you all about the village and 
about Coyote and Badger/ 

44 4 My grandfather, the Old Chief, is still 
alive? ’ 

4 4 4 Yes; but he is very old and he has taken 
no interest in his people and his office since his 
daughter, your mother, went away with her 
husband/ 

4 4 4 Does he know that Coyote has the magic 
bow? ’ 

4 4 4 No, for Coyote has painted it black and 
has warned every one to say nothing about it 
to your grandfather/ 

Then come for me when it is dark/ said 
Sunny Face. 4 It is better for me to speak to 

62 


THE MAGIC BOW 

my grandfather before any one knows I am 
here.’ 

“ That night, before the moon had risen, the 
aunt came to the washing place by the river for 
Sunny Face and led him through the village to 
her own wigwam, where his grandfather, the 
Old Chief, was anxiously waiting his arrival; 
for the aunt had told the wonderful news that 
his daughter was still alive, and that her son 
and his grandson, Sunny Face, had come to 
visit him from the land of the Crows. 

“ It was so dark they could scarcely see the 
forms of the wigwams as they went through 
the village and had any one been out as they 
passed he could not have recognized them. 

“ When Sunny Face had related to his 
grandfather all that had happened to his 
mother and his father, the Old Chief was very 
angry; and he said: 

“ ‘ Grandson, I have not done right. I have 
not looked after the interests of my people. 
Now I am too old. You must take my place. 
But first you must recover the magic bow and 
punish those who killed your father.’ 

“And Sunny Face answered: 

“ ‘ These are the words of mv mother. These 

are the things she has taught me from my child- 

63 


THE MAGIC BOW 


hood. I shall certainly recover the magic bow 
and punish the murderers of my father.’ 

“ Coyote and Badger learned, by their 
magic, that the grandson of the Old Chief had 
returned; and they said: 

“ ‘ This boy must have told the Old Chief 
all that we have done. He is, no doubt, very 
angry; but he is so old and so many years have 
passed since he ruled his people that the young 
men have forgotten him; and the old men who 
remember him and would be willing to help 
him are as old and as helpless as himself. So 
he will not be able to make trouble. But with 
the young fellow it is quite different, if he is 
like his grandfather or his father or both. We 
must watch him so that he will not have a 
chance to escape; and we must kill him before 
he has time to make trouble.’ 

“ The old aunt, who was a very clever per¬ 
son and knew all that went on in the village, 
soon learned of the plans of Coyote and Bad¬ 
ger; and she said to Sunny Face: 

Nephew, Coyote and Badger are coming 
to-night to kill you; so you must leave here 
before dark, for they are going to come with 
all the young warriors to take you as a spy 

from the land of the Crows. And if they find 

64 


THE MAGIC BOW 

you here they may kill me and your grand¬ 
father too for hiding you. You must dress 
in your grandfather’s clothes and put on his 
magic moccasins and his magic mittens which 
he has not worn since your mother went away; 
and I will take you out for a walk, as I do 
him every day. No one will suspect that 
anything is wrong; for Coyote and Badger 
do not know that I have learned their 
plans.’ 

“ The old aunt dressed up Sunny Face to 
look like his tall, bent old grandfather; and 
she put a blanket about his head as the old 
man was accustomed to do; for it was still 
early spring and the air was chilly. With his 
magic spear for a staff and the old aunt sup¬ 
porting him, he went forth boldly in the mid¬ 
afternoon, through the village. No one paid 
any attention to them; for they were all ac¬ 
customed to seeing the old aunt helping her 
father take his daily walk. 

“ But as they came out of the village and 
down to the river near the washing place, they 
passed Coyote and Badger on their way back 
from the forest. 

“ Coyote said to Badger, ‘ The Old Chief is 
very feeble to-day.’ 


65 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“And Badger assented, ‘ Yes, the Old Chief 
is very feeble to-day. 5 

“ ‘ He is too feeble, 5 said Coyote. ‘ Old men 
don’t grow that feeble in a day. 5 

“ ‘ That’s so, 5 agreed Badger; ‘ old men 
don’t grow that feeble in a day. 5 

“ ‘ I have long suspected that old woman, 5 
said Coyote, pointing to the aunt, ‘ of being a 
witch. Now I am sure of it; for either she 
has bewitched the Old Chief or that is not 
he. 5 

“ ‘ Let us go into the chief’s wigwam and 
see if he is there, 5 suggested Badger. To¬ 
gether they went into the wigwam, as they had 
often done before, for they had made a prac¬ 
tice of going to salute the Old Chief daily. 
So no one paid any attention to them as they 
pulled aside the buffalo robe over the door and 
entered. 

There is no one here, 5 said Coyote. 

You see, Coyote, 5 said Badger, ‘ it was 
really the Old Chief we saw going out for his 
daily walk with his daughter. But he is cer¬ 
tainly growing old fast. 5 

“ Coyote shook his head. He was not sat¬ 
isfied. 

It seems so, 5 he said. ‘ Yet I am going to 

66 


<< t 


THE MAGIC BOW 


follow those two; for the woman is a witch and 
I do not trust her.’ 

You will have your trouble for your 
pains/ laughed Badger. 

“‘Very likely/ said Coyote; ‘but I shall 
have satisfied myself that things are right or 
wrong/ 

“ Though Coyote and Badger did not find 
the Old Chief in the wigwam, he was there all 
the same; for the old aunt had expected just 
such a visit as this. So she said to her father: 

“‘It is likely, when Coyote and Badger find 
that we have gone out, that they will come 
here to look for Sunny Face, whom they be¬ 
lieve is hidden here. If they do not see him 
they will think he has gone out into the forest. 
But if they should find you here, they would 
know we were playing a trick upon them. I 
must cover you up under that pile of skins. 
Even should they suspect that Sunny Face is 
hidden there, I do not think they will dare 
rummage about in the chief’s wigwam in broad 
daylight/ 

“ So when Sunny Face and the old aunt 
went out of the wigwam, they left the Old 
Chief securely hidden beneath the winter 
furs. 


67 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ Off toward the forest went Coyote in the 
direction opposite to that taken by the old aunt 
and Sunny Face; for he did not care to have 
any one know he was following them. But as 
soon as he had reached the wood, he turned 
toward the river and hastened after them. 
From among the trees where he was hidden he 
could see them; for they were still in sight of 
the village and walking very slowly along the 
sandy shore of the stream. Soon, however, 
they rounded a bend in the river which hid 
them from sight of the people of the village. 
Here Sunny Face straightened up suddenly, 
threw his blanket from his head and said, with 
a laugh: 

You are a witch, Aunt; for you have 
brought me through the heart of the village 
and the midst of my enemies, and no one, not 
even Badger or Coyote, suspects that I am not 
my own grandfather.’ 

Don’t be too sure of that,’ said the aunt. 
‘ I feel certain that both Coyote and Badger 
have visited our wigwam before this. They 
pretend to be very friendly with my father; 
and they visit him every day and pay their re¬ 
spects to him as the high chief. But they are 
always looking with inquisitive, prying eyes, 

68 


THE MAGIC BOW 

seeking to see what they can see. And now 
that they know you must have told your grand¬ 
father many things they had kept hidden from 
him until you came to the village, they will 
surely take this opportunity of looking into 
our wigwam.’ 

“ They passed on and Coyote heard no more. 
But he had learned all he wanted to learn. So 
he hurried back to find Badger and to tell him 
that he had been right after all; and that it 
was not the Old Chief but his grandson who 
had accompanied the aunt. 

They must have learned that we are go¬ 
ing to pay them a visit to-night,’ said Badger. 

“ 4 1 told you that woman is a witch,’ said 
Coyote. 4 She learns everything.’ 

44 4 Let us go to the wigwam of the Old Chief 
and search for him. He must be hidden in it. 
When we find him, we will ask him why he 
hides himself in his own wigwam, while his 
daughter goes out with some one disguised as 
him.’ 

44 4 That’s a good idea,’ said Badger; 4 for 
even if he is the high chief, he has no business 
keeping a spy in the village and hiding him 
from the people.’ 

44 They went to the wigwam, pulled aside 

69 


THE MAGIC BOW 

the robe over the door and entered; and there 
sat the Old Chief and his daughter, looking as 
unconcerned as though nothing out of the way 
had happened. 

“‘You have had a long walk, Chief,’ said 
Coyote. 

“ ‘Yes, I have had a long walk,’ answered 
the Old Chief. 

“ ‘ You didn’t meet any stranger on the 
way? ’ inquired Coyote. 

“ ‘ No, we met no stranger on the way,’ an¬ 
swered the Old Chief. 

“ The aunt went on preparing the supper as 
though she were not in the least interested in 
the conversation; but she was thinking: 

“ ‘ Coyote is very clever and he suspects 
something. It is lucky I hurried back and got 
into the wigwam before they came, without 
any one seeing me.’ 

“ ‘ You came back quickly,’ said Coyote. 

“ ‘ Yes, we came back quickly,’ agreed the 
Old Chief. ‘ We went out through the village, 
but we returned the back way through the for¬ 
est, which is much shorter.’ 

“ ‘ Yes,’ said Coyote, ‘ the way through the 
village was roundabout.’ 

“ And the old aunt, listening with all her 

70 


THE MAGIC BOW 

ears, thought there was a strange meaning in 
his voice. 

May you have more pleasant walks, 
Chief,’ said Badger. 

May you have more pleasant walks, 
Chief,’ repeated Coyote. 

“ When they had come out of the wigwam, 
Coyote said: 

Let us follow the grandson of the Old 
Chief. He has surely come here to spy and to 
take back information to the Crows. We must 
not let him get back home again.’ 

“ ‘ No,’ agreed Badger, ‘ we must not let 
him get back home again.’ 

“ They traveled all night and early in the 
morning they picked up the trail of Sunny 
Face. 

“ 4 He is not much of a warrior or hunter, or 
he would not leave a trail like this,’ said 
Coyote. 

“ ‘ Perhaps he is not afraid. He may be a 
great medicine man,’ suggested Badger. 

“ ‘ Great medicine man or not, this trail is 
bad,’ insisted Coyote; ‘ for even a great medi¬ 
cine man may meet a greater medicine man 
than himself. Then of what use is his enchant¬ 
ment? ’ 


71 


THE MAGIC BOW 


“ 4 That is quite true/ agreed Badger. 4 He 
must, as you say, be a very poor hunter 
and warrior. This is lucky for us, since 
it makes it easier for us to capture or kill 
him.’ 

“ They had not gone far when the trail 
branched out into two ways, one going in one 
direction and the other going in the other; and 
neither Badger nor Coyote could tell, with all 
their woodcraft, which was Sunny Face’s trail 
and which was not; and for a very good reason. 
Sunny Face had gone down one trail very 
swiftly with his magic moccasins. Then he 
had crossed the river and coming back on the 
other side, he had made a second trail, for he 
wished to separate Badger and Coyote. 

“ 4 You take one trail and I’ll take the 
other,’ said Badger to Coyote. 

44 4 That’s an easy way out of the difficulty/ 
agreed Coyote. 

44 Badger took the upper trail and Coyote 
took the one close to the shore of the river. 
Badger had not gone far when he saw Sunny 
Face some distance ahead, climbing the side 
of a high treeless hill. He hurried to catch up 
with him. But go as fast as he would, he could 
get no closer; for when he went fast Sunny 

72 


THE MAGIC BOW 


Face went fast, and when he went slow Sunny 
Face went slow. If he stopped Sunny Face 
stopped also, without ever looking backward 
or giving any sign he knew Badger was on his 
trail. 

“ At last Badger grew angry, and he drew 
his bow, saying: 

“ ‘ It is just as I thought. This grandson 
of the Old Chief is not much of a warrior. He 
would sooner trust to his heels than fight. He 
thinks he is at a safe distance, but he does not 
know the range of the magic bow of his grand¬ 
father.’ 

“ Coyote let fly the arrow and followed its 
flight with his eye. Straight to its object it 
went and he laughed slyly, thinking: 

“ ‘ The wisdom of the grandson is not so 
great as the wisdom of the grandfather.’ 

“ But just when the arrow should have 
reached its object there was no one there; for 
Sunny Face had taken a leap ahead with his 
magic moccasins, and the arrow fell behind 
him. 

“ Badger ran very fast and soon he was 
again within shooting distance of Sunny Face. 
And again he shot an arrow. But again 
Sunny Face leaped ahead out of reach of it, 

73 


THE MAGIC BOW 

without looking behind him or appearing to 
notice it. 

“ This made Coyote still more angry, and 
again he ran swiftly until he was once more 
within shooting distance, and he shot a third 
arrow much more strongly than before. But 
this time Sunny Face leaped right over the 
mountain top, and as Coyote ran after him, he 
struck the great peak a mighty blow with his 
magic mittens, and broke it off and sent it 
thundering down the hillside on top of him. 

“ Sunny Face went back down the mountain 
over the trail, and on the way he picked up the 
magic bow of his grandfather, over which the 
huge rock had rolled without injuring it in the 
least. 

“ Taking up the trail of Badger, Sunny 
Face hurried forward with his magic mocca¬ 
sins and soon came up behind him. Then he 
cut through the wood and came out on the trail 
some distance ahead of him, on the bank of the 
river. 

“ As soon as Badger saw him, he shot an 
arrow at him. But Sunny Face made a great 
lake between himself and Badger, and the lat¬ 
ter had to go round the shore of the lake to 
come up with him. Very swiftly he ran, for he 

74 


THE MAGIC BOW 

was the fastest of all runners and he had the 
strength of the magic symbols of the magic 
knife. When he had gone completely round 
the lake he shot a second arrow. But Sunny 
Face made a great bay between himself and 
Badger, who had to run all around the shore 
of the bay to reach him. Again he shot an 
arrow, but this time Sunny Face leaped across 
the wide river. Badger leaped into the river 
and swam across, for he was the swiftest of all 
swimmers, and again he shot an arrow. But 
Sunny Face, jumping high into the air, let it 
pass under him and ran into the forest; and 
Badger followed him. When they were deep 
within the wood, Sunny Face threw his magic 
spear among the trees and set them on fire. 
Fiercely it raged and Badger, who could not 
find his way out, was burned up. 

“ Again Sunny Face threw his magic spear 
into the forest and put the fire out. Then he 
went back over the trail and picked up the 
magic knife of his father with the mystic sym¬ 
bols on it, which was uninjured because of the 
magic power in it. Hurrying to the river, he 
followed its bank downward to the land of the 
Crows. He had not gone far when he came to 

a wigwam outside of which sat five very beau- 

75 


THE MAGIC BOW 


tiful maidens, all with their backs to him so 
that they had not seen him as he approached. 

“ One of the maidens said to the others: 

“ ‘ Last night I had a strange dream. I 
dreamt that a very handsome young chief came 
down the river to take me away with him and 
make me queen of his tribe.’ 

“ At this the other maidens laughed and 
sprang up, saying: 

“ ‘ How happy we are to have a queen in the 
family, and such a very handsome young chief 
for a brother-in-law.’ 

You will find me a very handsome hus¬ 
band too! ’ cried one. 

“ c And you will fish me one ot$ of the river 

< 

of your dreams! ’ cried another. 

“ ‘ But what good will a shadow man be? ’ 
cried a third. 

What better mate could a dream maiden 
have than a dream man? ’ cried the fourth 
maiden. 

“ At this they all laughed heartily, and the 
dream maiden ran into the wigwam followed 
by the others. 

“ 4 I had better bring them out again,’ said 
Sunny Face, as he threw his magic spear into 
the trunk of a great cedar tree and set it on 

76 


THE MAGIC BOW 


fire from top to bottom. It made such a bright 
light and crackled so as it burned that all the 
maidens ran out of the wigwam to find out 
what had happened. They were very much 
frightened for they could not imagine how the 
tree had got on fire so suddenly, for the day 
was bright and there was not a cloud in the 
sky. . 

“ While they were all gathered around the 
burning tree and talking excitedly about it, 
Sunny Face changed himself into a very old 
man, and lying down on the earth close by, 
began to groan loudly; and all the maidens 
turned about to see who it was that was making 
so much noise and what it was that he wanted. 
When they saw it was a very ragged and ugly 
old man, one of the maidens said: 

“ ‘ Let him die, for he is better dead than 
alive; and besides, we have no place for him in 
our wigwam.’ 

“ 4 Yes, let him die, for he is better dead 
than alive! ’ said a second maiden. 

“ ‘ Yes, let him die, for he is better dead than 
alive! ’ repeated two more maidens. 

“ But the fifth maiden, who appeared to be 
the youngest, cried: 

“ ‘ Sisters, he is very old and weak and he 

77 


THE MAGIC BOW 

must be tired and hungry. Let us carry him 
into our wigwam and give him something to 
eat! ’ 

“ But the one who had spoken first said: 

“ 4 You may do as you please, but I am not 
going to adopt my grandfather.’ 

“ At this the others laughed loudly and ran 
away to the wigwam, saying: 

“ ‘ No, we are not going to adopt our grand¬ 
father.’ 

“ The youngest sister got the old man on her 
back, carried him into the wigwam, laid him 
gently down upon a bed of furs and gave him 
the best in the place to eat, and all the while 
the other sisters mocked her, saying: 

“ 4 Truly her dream has come true. A very 
handsome lover has come down the river for 
her; and now she is giving him the best in the 
place to eat, as it is fit and proper a maiden 
should do for her future husband.’ 

44 4 And what a handsome lover he is! ’ ex¬ 
claimed one of the sisters mockingly. 

4 4 4 Yes, what a handsome lover he is!’ 
laughed all the others. 

44 But the youngest sister paid no attention 
to them. Her heart was sad for the poor old 
man, and she went on serving him with the 

78 


THE MAGIC BOW 

daintiest pieces without answering her sisters 
by word or look. 

“ All at once Sunny Face resumed his own 
form and said, addressing the youngest sister: 

“ ‘ I shall be pleased to be the lover you saw 
in your dream if you will let me. For a maiden 
with such a kind heart must surely make a good 
wife.’ 

“ And the youngest sister answered: 

“ 4 The lover I saw in my dreams was exactly 
like you, tall and noble and handsome/ 

“ Sunny Face went on down the river to the 
land of the Crows, taking with him the young¬ 
est sister who there became his wife. And the 
Crows gave them a great wedding feast such 
as they would have given to their highest chief. 
Thus the youngest sister’s dream came true. 

44 When the wedding feast was over, Sunny 
Face, accompanied by his wife and his mother, 
went back to his own people where his grand¬ 
father and his aunt were very glad to see him 
again and his mother and his wife. 

44 Sunny Face became chief of the tribe, and 
every one said he was a very great chief and 
a wonderful medicine man.” 


79 


VI 


OTTER HEART OF THE ENCHANTED 

FOREST 

The misty haze of autumn hung about the 
forest uplands, dimming and blending them 
into one almost continuous mass in which no 
individual trees were distinguishable. 

“ Look! ” exclaimed Orono, pointing to the 
mist-covered, forest-crowned uplands. “ One 
would say that was the Enchanted Forest of 
Glooskap.” 

“ Why does it look like the Enchanted For- 
est of Glooskap, Orono? ” inquired the Factor. 

“ All about it lies thick smoke, just as if the 
Manitu had blown it from his pipe,” answered 
Orono. 

“ Tell us about the enchantment that comes 
when the Manitu blows the smoke from his 
pipe, thick about the forest,” said the Lawyer. 

“ When the Manitu wills it, it is so,” said 
Orono. “ When he blows his sacred smoke 
about the hills or the forest and says, 4 Become 
enchanted! ’ they become enchanted.” 

“ Do you think that land above is en- 

80 


OTTER HEART 

chanted? ” inquired Baptiste with evident in¬ 
terest. 

“ Who can tell the will of the Manitu? ” an¬ 
swered Orono. “ Sometimes he smokes his 
pipe and all the land is glad as the Manitu 
himself. But when he puffs furiously, and the 
smoke, floating out in great bands, settles no¬ 
where, then he is angry. Then it is that he 

savs, ‘ Become enchanted! ’ and wherever he 

«/ * 

casts his eyes there is enchantment.” 

“ That’s so,” assented Baptiste. “ There 
are many enchanted forests. I have heard of 
them all the way from Quebec to the great 
mountains of the west. In the olden days there 
were more of them than there are now.” 

“ Have you ever heard the story of Otter 
Heart of the Enchanted Forest? ” inquired 
Orono. 

“ No, Orono, we have not heard the story 
of Otter Heart of the Enchanted Forest. 
Will you not tell it to us? ” said the Lawyer. 

“ This,” said Orono, “ is the story of Otter 
Heart. This is the story of the Enchanted 
F orest: 

“ Once upon a time a boy named Otter 
Heart and his sister lived in a great wood with 

their mother. The boy hunted far into the 

81 


OTTER HEART 


forest; fished in all the rivers and streams and 
chased the deer high up on the mountain side. 
But never, on his hunting or fishing trips, did 
he meet with a single human being. Much he 
thought about this, for he had never known 
any one but his mother and his sister. As there 
was no one else in the forest to speak to, he 
made friends of the animals of the wood, who 
taught him many of their secrets. The oldest 
of the Owls imparted to him her wisdom, and 
the big chief of the Beavers taught him the 
cunning and the magic of his people. So he 
grew up to be a great hunter, wise in all the 
ways of the forest. 

“ One day as Otter Heart was walking along 
the river bank and wondering whether there 
were other people in the world besides his 
mother, his sister and himself, he passed by, 
without noticing him, his friend the big chief 
of all the Beavers, who was cutting his supply 
of fresh young poplar for the winter. 

Good day, Otter Heart!’ called the 
Beaver from the poplar grove. ‘ You must be 
working up some powerful magic, since you 
are thinking so hard.’ 

Good day, Big Chief of all the Beavers! ’ 
returned Otter Heart. ‘ I am not working up 

82 


OTTER HEART 


great magic, brother. I was just wondering if 
there are other people in the world besides my 
mother, my sister and myself/ 

“ The big chief of all the Beavers laughed 
heartily. 4 Of course there are,’ he said. 4 The 
world is full of people/ 

“ 4 Then why have I never met or seen any 
of them? ’ inquired Otter Heart. 

“ 4 Because this is an Enchanted Forest, in 
which only the animals and the Supernatural 
People are permitted to live,’ said the Beaver. 

44 4 And why are my mother, my sister and 
myself allowed to remain in this Enchanted 
Forest ? ’ asked Otter Heart. 

44 4 That I can’t say/ said the Beaver. 4 Ask 
the oldest of all the Owls. Perhaps she knows, 
for she is very wise/ 

44 Otter Heart set out for the home of the 
oldest of all the Owls, which was in a dense, 
dark part of the forest. He found the owl 
nodding, for even the half-light of the forest 
made her sleepy. 

44 4 Good day, wisest of all the birds! ’ Otter 
Heart called to her, where she was sitting high 
up upon the dead branch of a dry cedar. 

44 4 Good day, Otter Heart! ’ the bird called 

to him in a sleepy, grumbling voice. 4 Why 

83 


OTTER HEART 


do you come and wake me up at this unearthly 
hour of the day? Can’t you call around at 
night when I have finished my sleep? 5 

“ ‘ Don’t be angry, wisest of all the birds! ’ 
said Otter Heart. ‘ I have come to you be¬ 
cause you are so wise, and there is something 
I want very much to know.’ 

“ ‘ And what is it you want to know so 
much that you come and wake me out of my 
sleep ? ’ asked the Owl, still in a grumbling 
voice. 

“ ‘ Tell me, oh, wise one, why it is that only 
my mother, my sister and myself are permitted 
to live with the animals and the Supernatural 
People in this Enchanted Forest?’ 

“ The Owl opened her large round eyes, 
looked solemnly at Otter Heart and asked very 
gravely: 

Who told you the forest is enchanted? ’ 

“ ‘ I know it is enchanted,’ answered Otter 
Heart ; 4 for if it were not, other hunters would 
surely come here where the game is so plentiful 
in the wood and the fish so many in the rivers.’ 

Your mother brought you and your sis¬ 
ter here. Ask her! ’ said the Owl. 

“ As Otter Heart made his way back home 
through the wood, he thought of the great out- 

84 


OTTER HEART 


side world and the many people living beyond 
the Enchanted Forest. 

“ That night, when his sister had lain down 
upon her bed of furs and had gone to sleep, 
Otter Heart asked his mother: 

“ 4 Why is it, Mother, that only you, my 
sister and I are allowed to live in this En¬ 
chanted Forest? ’ 

Who says the forest is enchanted? ’ asked 
his mother. 

44 4 1 know it is enchanted,’ answered Otter 
Heart; 4 for if it were not, other hunters would 
come here where the game is so plentiful in the 
wood and the fish so many in the rivers.’ 

When you and your sister were little chil¬ 
dren,’ said his mother, 4 a wicked Wolf-wizard 
killed your father by his enchantments. He 
also tried to kill you, your sister and me. But 
I fled with you both on my back, far into the 
forest, without knowing or caring where I was 
going. I thought only of getting beyond the 
power of the wizard’s enchantment. After 
many days’ journey I came to this open space 
by the river, and here I built a wigwam of 
bark, for I saw that here there were plenty of 
wild fruits, roots, game and fish. And here I 

have lived ever since. It is because the forest 

85 


OTTER HEART 


is enchanted that the wizard has not been able 
to follow us here.’ 

“ ‘ Mother,’ exclaimed Otter Heart, 4 1 am 
going out into the great world beyond the En¬ 
chanted Forest, to find and punish the Wolf- 
wizard who killed my father.’ 

44 4 No, no! you must not do that! ’ exclaimed 
his mother; 4 for the wizard is all-powerful, 
and he will surely kill you as he killed your 
father.’ 

44 4 No, Mother, he will not kill me,’ said 
Otter Heart, 4 for I have learned the mystery 
and magic of the forest people. From the big 
chief of all the Beavers and the oldest of all 
the Owls I have learned them. They are the 
wisest of all the forest people. If the Wolf- 
wizard has not come here, it is because their 
magic is stronger than his.’ 

Yes, that must be so,’ agreed his mother. 
4 1 suppose that some day you will leave the 
forest, for you will not be content to live here 
always. But whenever you do leave here, you 
must be very careful, for the Wolf-wizard is 
wondrous wise and powerful.’ 

44 From that day Otter Heart could think of 
nothing but the great outside world beyond the 

Enchanted Forest, with its many people like 

86 


OTTER HEART 


himself, his mother and his sister. He won¬ 
dered if they were really like himself. It all 
seemed very strange to him. 

“ Had they sisters and mothers like his? 
Often, too, he thought of Wolf-wizard and 
wondered if he were still alive. He hoped so, 
for he wanted very much to go and punish him 
for the murder of his father. Day and night, 
the great unknown land kept calling to him 
until at last he could resist the call no longer. 
So he went to his mother and said: 

44 4 To-morrow I am going to set out for the 
outside world to find Wolf-wizard and punish 
him. I must go, Mother, for the voices keep 
calling to me all the time, day and night/ 

44 4 If the voices call to you, then you must 
go, Otter Heart,’ said his mother. 4 But be 
very careful about the Wolf-wizard; for 
though you have learned the knowledge of the 
forest people, it may be that, in his own coun¬ 
try, his magic is stronger than yours.’ 

44 4 Never fear, Mother,’ said Otter Heart. 
4 1 am not afraid of the magic of the Wolf- 
wizard.’ 

44 Next morning Otter Heart said to his sis¬ 
ter: 

Bring me eight pairs of moccasins, sis- 

8T 


a 6 


OTTER HEART 


ter, for I am going on a long journey to the 
outside world.’ 

“ His sister brought him from the store 
which she had been making for the winter, 
eight pairs of new moccasins, beautifully em¬ 
broidered with quills and shells. 

“ Putting the moccasins in the bosom of his 
hunting shirt, Otter Heart set out upon his 
journey. At noon he came to a clearing in the 
forest. The corn, bean and squash patches 
were all overgrown with weeds and the stumps 
of the trees were old and rotten. 

“ ‘ It is many a day since any one has lived 
here,’ he thought. 

“ Taking one of the moccasins from the 
bosom of his hunting shirt he hung it upon a 
tree, saying: 

Oh, good moccasin, guard the trail from 
here to the house of my mother until I come 
back over it again.’ 

“ Then he went on his way to the great out¬ 
side world. All the afternoon he tramped on 
through the forest, and at sunset he came to 
another clearing. Here too the corn, bean and 
squash patches were all overgrown with weeds 
and the stumps were old and rotten. 

“ ‘ It is many a day since any one has been 

88 



“Otter Heart came out of the Enchanted Forest.” 

rage 89 . 












OTTER HEART 


here,’ he said. 4 This place must be within the 
Enchanted Forest.’ 

“ Otter Heart slept in the clearing that 
night and the following morning he was up 
just as the great red sun was peeping above 
the horizon. Hanging a second moccasin on a 
tree he said: 

“ 4 Oh, good moccasin, help to guard the 
trail from here to the house of my mother until 
I come back over it again.’ 

44 Thus he journeyed day after day. When¬ 
ever he came to a clearing he hung a moccasin 
on a tree, saying: 

44 4 Oh, good moccasin, help to guard the 
trail from here to the house of my mother until 
I come back over it again! ’ 

44 At last, when all the moccasins but one 
were hanging on trees, Otter Heart came out 
of the Enchanted Forest on to the great prairie 
land where there were no trees, and he thought: 

4 4 4 This must be the land of Wolf-wizard, 
for it is, as my mother has described it, without 
trees as far as the eye can see.’ 

44 At the edge of the forest he hung the last 
of the eight pairs of moccasins on a tree, say¬ 
ing: 

“ 4 Oh, good moccasin, help to guard the 

89 


OTTER HEART 

trail from here to the house of my mother till 
I come back over it again! ’ 

“ Across the treeless, prairie country he 
walked for several hours, and in the afternoon 
he came to a village in front of which a number 
of young men were playing lacrosse, while all 
the people, old and young, were watching 
them. Right up to the ball field went Otter 
Heart boldly, and there he stopped to watch 
the players. So interested were all the spec¬ 
tators in the game that no one paid attention 
to him. One side seemed much weaker than 
the other, and Otter Heart sympathized with 
the weaker side. As they began to show more 
and more signs of weakness, he shouted to them 
words of encouragement. Then the spectators 
began to pay attention to him and to wonder 
greatly at his appearance, for his clothing was 
like none they had ever seen before. 

“ The Great Chief ordered Otter Heart to 
be brought before him, and when this had been 
done he said: 

Stranger, what is your tribe and where 
do you come from? ’ 

“ ‘ I have come out of the wood, and there 
I belong,’ answered Otter Heart, pointing to 
the forest. 


90 


OTTER HEART 


“‘Not from there!’ exclaimed the chief. 
‘ That is the Enchanted Forest. No one lives 
there except the animals and the Supernatural 
People.’ 

“ ‘ Nobody but my mother, my sister and 
myself,’ said Otter Heart. 

“ ‘ If you come from there, you must have 
great magic,’ said the chief, ‘ for no one can 
even enter the Enchanted Forest without hav¬ 
ing greater magic than is known to any one 
here. Do you play ball? ’ 

“ ‘ I have never tried,’ answered Otter 
Heart. 

“ ‘ Then you shall try now, to test the truth 
of what you have just told us, for he who 
knows the magic of the forest must surely 
know how to play ball, which every Indian lad 
knows. What is your name? ’ 

“ ‘ Otter Heart.’ 

“ Then the chief called to the young men 
playing the game of lacrosse, saying: 

“ ‘ Make room for this stranger, Otter 
Heart! ’ 

“ And at once the young men made room 
for him in the game, placing him on the weaker 
side. This pleased Otter Heart. For a while 
he played on the defensive until he had learned 

91 


OTTER HEART 


the rules and manner of playing the game. 
Several times he caught the ball and threw it 
with such force toward the opposite goal that 
the spectators shouted, ‘Ugh, ugh, ugh!’ 
which meant, ‘ That’s very well done! ’ 

“ The next time Otter Heart caught the 
ball, instead of throwing it toward the oppo¬ 
site goal, he ran swiftly more than halfway 
down the field; and then he threw it straight 
toward the goal with such speed that, though 
the goal keeper caught it, he had to turn com¬ 
pletely around before he could throw it. From 
that moment every eye of the opposite side was 
on Otter Heart, and the spectators followed 
the stranger player with ever-increasing inter¬ 
est, and they continued to ask one another: 
‘ Who is he? ’ No one could answer the ques¬ 
tion. But every one was sure he was none of 
the well-known players from among the Al- 
gonquins. Yet he must be Algonquin, they 
reasoned, since he spoke fluently the language 
of the people. 

“ The most interested of all the spectators 
was the chief, who watched every move of the 
players. 

That boy must certainly be from the En¬ 
chanted Forest,’ he said to himself, ‘ for no 

92 


OTTER HEART 


one who had never learned the game could 
play the way he does unless he possessed su¬ 
perior magic, which could only come from 
there.’ 

“ Otter Heart’s side in the game took heart 
when they saw the ball miss the opposite goal 
by a very narrow margin several times, and 
soon they began to force the game, so that 
their opponents were compelled to defend their 
own goal instead of forcing that of the oppo¬ 
site side. 

“ Suddenly one of the backs caught the ball 
and threw it with great force straight down 
the center of the field. Back and forth it 
passed up and down the field, and in the rush 
Otter Heart was forgotten for the moment. 
He stood quietly watching his chance. At last 
the ball came directly toward him. He caught 
it, and rushing down the badly defended side, 
past two players, he crossed to the center be¬ 
hind the players who had followed the ball for¬ 
ward, and outdistancing them all, he threw the 
ball straight upon the goal defended only by 
the goal keeper. It passed to the right of the 
keeper, between the posts, but so close to one 
it almost touched it. This was the first and 

only goal won, for the chief soon called off the 

93 


OTTER HEART 

players, who crowded about Otter Heart, con¬ 
gratulating him on his excellent playing. 
Among them were the chief, his daughter and 
his adopted daughter, two very handsome 
maidens. 

“ ‘ Come with me/ said the chief to Otter 
Heart. ‘ There is aways room in my wigwam 
for a stranger.’ 

“ As they entered the village, the chief 
thought: 

“ ‘ This Otter Heart is a wonderful young 
man. He possesses great magic which he has 
learned in the Enchanted Forest. If he is as 
good a hunter as he is a ball player, he would 
make an excellent husband for my adopted 
daughter.’ 

“ But he said nothing of this to any one, 
for he was a very wise old man. He wanted 
to know more about this young stranger 
who had come out of the great Enchanted 
F orest. 

“ The following morning the chief invited 
Otter Heart to take part in a hunt which the 
young braves had just organized for the rest 
of the week. For four days he went to the 
hunt every morning, and every evening he re¬ 
turned with more game than any of his com- 

94 


OTTER HEART 

panions. On the fifth day the chief said to 
him: 

“ ‘ Otter Heart, you are already a great 
hunter. It is time you had a home for your¬ 
self. I shall give you my eldest daughter for 
wife.’ 

“ This did not suit Otter Heart at all, for 
he had seen enough of the chief’s adopted 
daughter, in the five days he had been in the 
village, to know that she was as lazy and 
greedy as she was handsome. Besides, he had 
come to like the younger daughter very 
much. But he knew that, if the chief had 
decided to marry off the elder first, there was 
no use of asking him for the younger. So he 
said: 

“ 4 1 thank you, great chief, for your kind¬ 
ness. But I cannot take a wife now, for I 
have come out of the forest to perform a duty 
which may not be put off and which may take 
much time.’ 

“ 4 And what is this duty, may I ask? ’ in¬ 
quired the chief. 

44 4 1 have come to hunt the murderer of my 
father.’ 

44 4 And what is his name? ’ 

44 4 Wolf-wizard.’ 


95 


OTTER HEART 


“ ‘ I knew him years ago,’ said the chief; 
‘ but no one about here has seen him for a long 
time, so he must be dead.’ 

“ 4 I must make sure of that,’ said Otter 
Heart. 

“ 4 Well, stay with us and I will send out 
messengers to the other villages to inquire if 
any one has seen or knows anything of Wolf- 
wizard. If we can find him then you may 
fulfil your duty the more easily.’ 

“ That same night, when every one in the 
village was asleep, Otter Heart stole quietly 
out of the wigwam of the chief, for he was de¬ 
termined not to marry the elder sister, and he 
wanted to hunt himself for Wolf-wizard. 

44 Once out of the village he ran as fast as 
he could for several hours until at last he felt 
he was safe from pursuit. 

44 Stopping by the side of a creek he took 
some dried meat out of his hunting bag and 
began to eat it. 

44 The adopted sister, who had lain awake 
thinking of the handsome and clever husband 
which her father had picked out for her, heard 
Otter Heart moving about in the wigwam and 
she saw him steal out ever so quietly. She was 

very angry, for she understood quite well that 

96 


OTTER HEART 


he was making his escape so that he might not 
have to marry her. So she followed him. She 
was a very powerful woman and she easily 
kept up with Otter Heart as he ran across the 
open prairie country and entered the forest. 
She remained just far enough behind so that 
he might not know she was following him. 
But scarcely had he seated himself on the river 
bank and taken the dried meat out of his hunt¬ 
ing bag when she rushed upon him with a half 
shriek, half laugh. He could hear her coming, 
but he could not see her, for the trees were 
thick and the shadow deep where she advanced 
through the forest. At the first sound of the 
fearful laugh he began to climb a very tall pine 
tree, and when the angry woman came in sight, 
he was securely hidden among the topmost 
branches. And he thought: 

“ ‘ I am quite safe here, for no one will be 
able to see me through this thick foliage. 5 

“ But he did not know that the woman who 
was following him was a witch, and that, by 
the power of her magic, she could see him as 
plainly amid the foliage of the branches as 
though he were in the open country before her. 
This is why she had been able to follow him 
through the thick, dark forest, though she re- 

97 


OTTER HEART 


mained always so far behind he could not know 
she was following him. 

“ With a shrill, fiendish laugh, she began to 
chop the tree down. 

“ Otter Heart laughed quietly to himself, 
for he thought: 

“ 4 This is a very large tree, so large this 
woman will never be able to chop it down with 
her stone axe. 5 

“ He was curious to see how things were 
going on below, so he peeped cautiously out 
through the thick foliage. The adopted sister 
was chopping furiously and laughing with a 
shrill falsetto laugh. At every stroke of the 
axe a great chip flew from the trunk of the 
tree. 

44 4 1 had not thought of her using magic to 
chop down a tree,’ said Otter Heart to him¬ 
self. 4 But two can play at magic.’ He began 
uttering a spell the flying squirrel had taught 
him: 

“ e Cone, cone of the pine tree! 

Bear me up as I sail away! 

Carry me off on the back of the wind! 

Bear me up as I sail away; 

Over the tops of the trees 

And far away! ’ 

98 


OTTER HEART 


“ At once the cone shot out from the top of 
the tall pine tree which stood high above every 
other tree in the forest, and carried Otter 
Heart, sailing like a leaf on the wind, far away 
over the wood; and all the while the angry 
woman continued to chop and chop while the 
great chips flew from her stone axe, and at 
the sight of each chip she uttered a shrill laugh. 

“ Soon the tree fell crashing to the ground 
into the open space by the shore of the river, 
and the woman rushed up to seize Otter Heart; 
but when she found he had escaped, she uttered 
a terrible shriek of hate and rushed off through 
the forest in search of the young hunter, who 
ran as fast as the wind, the angry woman close 
behind him. All day they rushed through the 
forest. Otter Heart could not shake off the 
woman and she could not catch up with him 
because of the magic of the forest people. The 
woman, possessing the magic of the wind peo¬ 
ple, was tireless, but it was not so with Otter 
Heart, who began at last to feel so weary he 
felt he could go no farther. Just then he saw 
a hollow log in front of him and he dived head¬ 
first into it, and remembering a spell the big 
chief of the Beavers had taught him, he re¬ 
peated it: 


99 


OTTER HEART 


“ ‘ Log of the cedar tree! 

Trunk of the cedar tree! 

Close up jour gaping mouth! 

Shut up jour jawning mouth! 

And shelter me 
From mine enemj ! 5 

“ And at once the open end of the cedar tree 
closed up so that it appeared like a solid log. 

“ But nothing could hide him from the magic 
of the adopted sister who could see through 
solid things as easily as through thin air by 
virtue of her witchcraft. 

“ Laughing with fiendish joy she cried, as 
she began to hack at the log: 

“ 4 1 see you, Otter Heart, I see you, there 
within the log! This time you cannot escape 
me.’ 

44 Otter Heart could hear the furious blows 
of her stone axe falling upon the log like claps 
of thunder. He knew that soon she would 
have a hole in it, for nothing in the forest could 
resist her magic blows. Then he repeated a 
very powerful spell the King of the Water- 
snakes had taught him: 

“ 6 Master of earth 
And master of fire, 

Send thy magical power! 

100 



OTTER HEART 


Work thy magical will! 

Make this log that shelters me 
The hardest of all hard things, 

The hardest of things that be! J 

“ At once the cedar log became harder than 
the hardest thing on earth, and as the furious 
adopted sister continued to strike it with all her 
might, her stone axe flew into pieces. Then 
she stopped, saying to herself: 

“ ‘ There is no use trying to take this in¬ 
tended husband of mine by force. I must 
catch him some other way.’ 

“ Then she said aloud: 

“ ‘ Well, if you won’t come out you may 
stay there until you die, for all I care! ’ 

“ Away she went through the forest, laugh¬ 
ing shrilly like the tempest wind, and leaving 
Otter Heart free to come out of the log when 
he pleased. This he soon did, and as he went 
on his way he did not hurry, for he knew that 
the elder sister, powerful witch though she was, 
could do nothing against the magic he had 
learned from the forest people. 

“ As his hunting bag was almost empty, Ot¬ 
ter Heart went in search of game. Having 
shot a young beaver, he made his way toward 

the river that he might be able to find an open 

101 


OTTER HEART 


space where he could cook it. He had not gone 
far when he came out upon a beaver meadow, 
and he knew that the river must be on the 
other side of it. When he reached the river 
bank he lay down his blanket and his game 
and went in search of some dry wood with 
which to make a fire. When he returned with 
his arms full of wood, he found a bark wigwam 
close to his blanket. He wondered he had not 
seen it when he had laid down the game there. 
The smoke was curling slowly and invitingly 
out of the smoke hole of the wigwam. 

“ As Otter Heart looked at it, he thought: 

“ ‘ Where there is smoke there is fire, and 
where there is fire there must be some one to 
make it. I shall go into the wigwam and see 
who it is.’ 

“With the bundle of dry wood under one 
arm and the beaver in the other hand, he en¬ 
tered the wigwam. 

“ A beautiful young woman was busy 
getting supper ready. When the shadow of 
Otter Heart fell across the doorway, she 
turned round and, with a smile, bade him wel¬ 
come. 

“ ‘ I am a hunter far from home,’ said Otter 

Heart, £ and I was gathering dry wood to make 

102 


OTTER HEART 


a fire when I came upon your wigwam. May 
I use your fire to cook this beaver? ’ 

“ ‘ I will cook it for you/ said the woman. 

“ 4 If you will share it with me when it is 
done/ said Otter Heart. 

That’s a fair bargain/ replied the woman. 

“ She took the beaver from Otter Heart, 
who laid his bundle of wood down by the fire 
and seated himself on a brown-bear skin to 
watch the woman, as she went on with her 
cooking skilfully and quietly. He thought 
how handsome she looked and what a good 
housewife she was, as she quickly skinned the 
beaver and began roasting it over the fire, and 
he said to himself: 

“ 4 Here would be a fine wife for some one! ’ 

44 All the time he was thinking of himself. 

44 The appetizing smell of the roasting 
heaver, filling the lodge, was very pleasing to 
Otter Heart, and he was contented as he con¬ 
tinued to watch the young woman moving 
about the wigwam so quietly and so skilfully. 
But suddenly the pleasing expression on her 
face changed, and into her eyes came a greedy 
look like that of a hungry wolf, as she sniffed 
the odor of the roasting meat. 

44 As Otter Heart sat down to eat with the 

103 


OTTER HEART 


woman she cut up the roasted beaver and 
served it, keeping all the best parts of the meat 
for herself and giving him only the poorest 
parts and the bones. She ate ravenously, like 
a famished animal. For a while Otter Heart 
suffered this in silence, but as the greedy thing 
continued to eat and eat as though she could 
never fill herself, he lost all patience and cried 
out in anger: 

“ ‘ You are nothing but a greedy wolf! ’ 

“ At once the woman fell down on all fours, 
and in an instant she was changed into a 
hungry, gaunt wolf. With a high, falsetto 
laugh, she rushed into the forest. Otter Heart 
knew that laugh. It was that of the adopted 
daughter. 

“ The wigwam had disappeared with the 
woman, but the fire, which Otter Heart had 
himself fed with wood several times during 
the cooking of the beaver, remained. So wrap¬ 
ping himself up in his blanket, he lay down be¬ 
side it and went to sleep, and he did not awake 
until the sun had risen over the beaver meadow 
the following morning. 

“ As Otter Heart continued his journey, the 
baying of a lone wolf far in the heart of the 
forest reminded him of the wicked adopted 

104 


OTTER HEART 


daughter, and he thought how fortunate he 
was to have found her out in time; and he was 
very glad, for he said to himself: 

“ ‘ Now that her disguise has been dis¬ 
covered and she has been forced to resume her 
true form, perhaps she will not be able to 
again trouble good people. I very much fear 
she is the evil magician who killed my father.’ 

“ All day Otter Heart tramped on through 
the forest; and at nightfall he came out upon 
the bank of another river. Again he shot a 
beaver, and again he laid his blanket and the 
beaver down together and went into the forest 
to gather dry wood for a fire. When he came 
back he found a bark wigwam close to where 
he had left his blanket. And out of the 
smoke hole of the wigwam curled the smoke 
invitingly. Through the open doorway he 
saw a woman busy by the fire preparing sup¬ 
per. So he said to himself: 

“ ‘ Here must be more magic. Magic seems 
to belong to everything in the Enchanted 
Forest. I suppose the adopted daughter is 
trying some more of her tricks. But it is cer¬ 
tainly very stupid of her to build another en¬ 
chanted wigwam; she might have known she 

could not trick me with it a second time,’ 

105 


OTTER HEART 


“ Saying this, he went up to the wigwam; 
and as his shadow fell across the doorway, a 
very pleasant young woman turned from the 
fire and said: 

“ 4 Will you not come in? I saw you going 
into the forest for wood; and as I knew you 
must be tired and hungry, I brought your 
beaver in to cook it for you. You will find 
your blanket spread by the fire.’ 

“ Otter Heart laid his armful of dry wood 
on one side of the fire and seated himself on his 
own blanket on the other, thinking all the 
while: 

“ ‘ How nice and comfortable it is to have 
a pretty, pleasant woman to cook one’s game 
and to spread one’s blanket by the fire.’ 

“ The young woman continued to smile 
pleasantly as she roasted the beaver. , She 
worked quickly and skilfully, but she never 
said a word. 

“ Otter Heart thought: 

“ 4 She is not only a pretty and pleasant 
woman; she is very wise, for she knows enough 
to hold her tongue. She will not worry her 
husband when he comes home tired from 
tramping through the forest all day.’ 

44 When the beaver was cooked Otter Heart 

106 


OTTER HEART 


and the woman sat down together to eat it. 
Carefully she cut up the beaver, smiling all the 
while in the most pleasant manner as she 
handed the best parts of the meat to Otter 
Heart, and kept only the poorer parts and the 
bones for herself. 

“ 4 She is not only pretty and wise; she is 
unselfish,’ thought Otter Heart. 

“ Then he said aloud: 

“ ‘ You are very kind to give me all the best 
parts of the meat. I wish you were the old 
chief’s younger daughter, so that I might 
marry you.’ 

“ At these magic words the young woman 
changed at once into the younger daughter of 
the old chief. 

“ Otter Heart noticed that she had spread 
his blanket by the fire near her own; and he 
knew that this meant that she was willing to 
have him for a husband. So he said: 

“ ‘ You have spread my blanket near the fire 
by the side of your own.’ 

“ And she answered: 

“ 4 1 have, Otter Heart.’ 

“ ‘ Then you will go with me in the morning 
to see my mother and my sister? ’ he inquired. 

“ And she answered: 

107 


OTTER HEART 


“ ‘ In the morning I will go with you, 
Otter Heart, to see your mother and your 
sister/ 

“ The following morning Otter Heart, tak¬ 
ing the younger sister with him, set out to find 

the end of the trail where he had left the last 

\ 

moccasin. When he had found it he said to 
the moccasin: 

“ ‘ Have you guarded well the trail to the 
home of my mother? ’ 

“ And the moccasin answered: 

“ ‘ Master, I have guarded well the trail 
from here to the home of your mother/ 

“ All the next day they traveled, Otter 
Heart and the younger sister; and just at 
nightfall they came to the clearing where Otter 
Heart had left the second-last moccasin before 
going out of the forest. There he found the 
moccasin just as he had left it; and he inquired 
of it: 

Have you guarded well the trail from 
here to the home of my mother? ’ 

“ And the moccasin answered: 

Master, I have guarded well the trail 
from here to the home of your mother/ 

“ Thus day after day they traveled, Otter 
Heart and the younger sister, following the 

108 


OTTER HEART 

trail from one moccasin to another; and always 
they found that the moccasin had guarded well 
the trail. 

“ At last they came to the lake in the heart 
of the Enchanted Forest; and there at the door 
were the mother and the sister, both glad to 
see Otter Heart back home again safe and 
sound. The mother was very much pleased 
that he had brought a wife with him; and she 
said to herself: 

“ 4 Now he will be content to remain here 
and will not want to go off into the outside 
world again.’ 

44 The mother was very wise. 

44 Otter Heart never again left the forest. 
But often he thought of the great outside 
world and the many people in it, of the hunt¬ 
ing in company with the young men, and 
especially of the ball game. And he pictured 
to himself how very pleasant it would be to 
have some one there in the Enchanted Forest 
to play it with. 

44 When Otter Heart had given his mother 
an account of his journey to the outside world 
and had related to her his strange adventures 
with the two sisters in the forest, she said: 

The wicked sister, I am sure, must have 

109 


a c 


OTTER HEART 


been the Wolf-wizard who killed your father 
with her enchantments/ 

“ And Otter Heart answered: 

“ 4 1 have always thought so, Mother/ ” 


110 


VII 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

“ This morning the fog was wonderful,” 
said Baptiste. “ To the east it lay piled up 
wide and high, a vast sea out of the center of 
which rose the mountains like a great island. 
And over the top of the island stood the sun, 
throwing his white light on the enchanted sea 
of mist. 

“ I saw it, too,” added Iagoo; “ and it made 
me think of the happy island of Glooskap ris¬ 
ing out of the Northern Sea like a great ice¬ 
berg.” 

“ Tell us about the happy island of Gloos¬ 
kap,” said the Factor. 

“ People say it is the fairest of all hunting 
grounds,” continued Iagoo; “ and that it is al¬ 
ways green, summer and winter, though when 
seen from the Northern Sea, it looks like a 
great iceberg. Others say that it really is an 
iceberg, which Glooskap, by his wondrous 
magic, has made to bloom like the far South¬ 
land. Others say that the island of Glooskap 

111 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


floats about in the far north, and that, should it 
strike the earth, it would burn it up instantly.” 

“ Has any one ever seen this enchanted is¬ 
land of Glooskap? ” inquired the Lawyer. 

“ Many have seen it and some visited it in 
the days of long ago,” said Iagoo. “ Have you 
ever heard the story of the visit of Little Tur¬ 
tle and his brother, Badger, to the island of 
Glooskap, where they went in search of the 
great magic? ” 

“ No, Iagoo,” said the Factor. “ Tell us 
about the visit of Little Turtle and his brother 
Badger to the enchanted island home of Gloos¬ 
kap, in search of the great magic.” 

“ Long, long ago, far back in the olden 
time,” began Iagoo, “ there lived on the shore 
of the Big Sea Water a chief who had a very 
beautiful daughter called Wechipi. The fame 
of her beauty had spread far and wide; and 
young chiefs, strong and handsome, had come 
from far and near to ask her father’s permis¬ 
sion to marry her. The chief, though he did 
not want to part with his daughter because she 
was his only child, welcomed all the suitors in 
the most friendly manner and appeared to be 
very glad to see them. But always to each he 
said: 


112 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ ‘ He who would become my son-in-law 
must be very strong, very brave and very wise, 
since my daughter is the most beautiful of all 
maidens. I have arranged some tests by which 
to prove his worthiness. Are you willing to at¬ 
tempt these tasks? 5 

“ Each suitor, when he had seen the shining 
face of Wechipi, was ready to answer: 

44 4 Great chief, for your daughter Wechipi 
I will venture all things.’ 

44 The chief was a very great magician and 
he had for his friends the most powerful of all 
wizards and magicians; and they had arranged 
tasks which none of the suitors were able to 
perform. 

44 Far from the shore of the Big Sea Water 
lived twin brothers, Little Thunder and Bad¬ 
ger, who fished and hunted together and were 
never separated from each other. They heard 
of the beauty of Wechipi and of the strange 
tests her father had set for all those who should 
seek her hand in marriage. Badger laughed 
when the tales were brought to the village of 
the charms of the maiden by the Big Sea 
Water; and he said, with a shake of his 
head and a knowing way which was all his 


own: 


113 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“‘Beauty belongs to the outside; and no¬ 
body can see into the heart of a woman before 
she is married. I’ll wager there are right here 
at home maidens who are more beautiful within 
than this far-famed Wechipi, this handsomest 
of all women by the Big Sea Water.’ 

“ But Little Thunder was of quite a differ¬ 
ent mind. He could think of nothing but the 
beautiful Wechipi; and of the far-distant is¬ 
land by the distant sea where she lived. Day 
by day her face was ever before him and in the 
night she came to him in his dreams. No 
longer he took interest in the hunt or in the 
sports and games of the young men. No 
longer he was foremost in the dances, the cere¬ 
monies and the festivities of the seasons. 

“ Badger shook his head, and looking very 
serious, said: 

My brother, Little Thunder, must surely 
be in love. But why does he not go boldly to 
the parents of the girl and ask for her? ’ 

“ Very wise was Badger. So he said noth¬ 
ing of what was in his mind, feeling certain 
that some day Little Thunder would speak of 
it himself; for one in love, when he is afraid to 
ask for the hand of the maiden, must have some 
one with whom to share his secret. 

114 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ Sure enough, one day, while they were to¬ 
gether in the forest, Little Thunder said: 

“ ‘ Brother, I am going to see this Wechipi 
of the village by the Big Sea Water whom 
every one says is the most beautiful of all 
women.’ 

“ 4 No, I wouldn’t do that,’ said Badger; 
4 for you cannot hope to succeed against the 
magic of the old chief, her father, who, as 
every one well knows, is a very great medicine 
man. He will give you tasks to do such as no 
one has ever yet been able to do; and if you fail 
the boys and the squaws will chase you out of 
the village.’ 

“ 4 Brother, I must go,’ answered Little 
Thunder very earnestly. 4 Happen what may, 
I must see this Wechipi; for I can think of 
nothing but her.’ 

44 Badger was very wise, very wise indeed 
was he; and he thought: 

4 4 4 It will never do to have my brother dis¬ 
graced before the young men and the old men, 
as he surely must be if he goes off to seek this 
Wechipi.’ But he said nothing at all of this to 
Little Thunder. What he said was: 

44 4 If you must go, brother, you must. But 

let us first seek greater wisdom so that we may 

115 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

be able to overcome the magic of the old chief 
of the people by the Big Sea Water.’ 

“ 4 Very well, brother,’ answered Little 
Thunder. 4 But where are we going to find 
this greater wisdom? I have no doubt that 
many of the young men who have set out to 
win this Wechipi have taken with them the 
greatest wisdom of their tribes; for many of 
them are sons of chiefs and medicine men.’ 

“ 4 Have you not often heard it said that 
Glooskap, the master of men and beasts, the 
very wise one, promised in the long ago, in the 
olden time, that he would grant one wish to 
him who should be brave, bold and wise enough 
to seek him in his distant home? ’ inquired Bad¬ 
ger very gravely. 

“ 4 Many a time I have heard the singers and 
the story-tellers relate this very old tale,’ said 
Little Thunder. 4 That it is true there can be 
no doubt. But who in these days can follow 
the trail to his home ? ’ 

44 4 Do not all the wise singers assure us that 
he who is willing to undergo the fatigue and the 
dangers of the journey can find his way to the 
home of Glooskap; for thus he has willed it 
himself. Let us go to him and ask him for the 

wisdom with which to overcome the magic of 

116 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


the old chief of the people by the Great Sea 
Water. If we fail to reach the home of Gloos¬ 
kap, there will still be time to try your own 
cunning against the magic of the old chief/ 

My brother’s words are very wise,’ said 
Little Thunder. ‘ The wisdom of Glooskap is 
certainly greater than the magic of the world 
people. Let us go and find him and ask him 
for this wisdom.’ 

“ The two brothers set out for the far-dis¬ 
tant land where Glooskap had built his white 
lodge on the shining shore of the shining sea. 
For seven long years they traveled; and many 
strange and wonderful adventures they had. 
The great River of Dread they crossed in the 
stone canoe of the ferryman of the dead; and 
for many days they traveled by the Rainbow 
Bridge that joins the earth to the island home 
of the Manitu. When they had come to the 
end of it, Badger said: 

“ ‘ I hear the barking of dogs. Some one 
must live near here.’ 

“ ‘ I, too, hear the barking of dogs,’ said Lit¬ 
tle Thunder. 4 There must surely be a village 
near by. Let us hurry on so that we may get 
there before dark.’ 

“ Though they were very tired from their 

117 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSIvAP 


long climb up the Rainbow Bridge, they has¬ 
tened forward with all possible speed, guided 
by the barking of the dogs. But fast though 
they went, the darkness came down upon them 
before they had reached the village. Farther 
they could not go; for the barking of the dogs 
had ceased. So they built their camp fire in 
the shelter of a ravine where it might be hidden 
from the sight of any evil-disposed people in 
the neighborhood. 

“ They were awakened the following morn¬ 
ing at sunrise by the barking of dogs, which 
seemed somewhat louder than that of the day 
before. Thus day after day they traveled for 
a full month, by the light of the sun, and slept 
in the shadow of the moon. Every day the 
voices of the animals grew a little louder until 
at last they sounded like the rolling of thunder 
in the mountains. 

“ One day, as they came out upon a great 
sunlit plain, two monstrous animals, a badger 
and a bear, such as no one had ever before seen, 
came out to meet them and to welcome them to 
the land of Glooskap, the master of men and 
beasts. The barking of the dogs had ceased 
and all was wondrous still on that great sunlit 
plain. 


118 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ The badger and the bear led the way and 
soon they came to the shining wigwam of 
Glooskap by the shining sea. At the door sat 
the master of men and beasts smoking his great 
red-stone pipe, on the head and stem of which 
were carved those mystical, wonder-working 
signs and symbols with which he accomplished 
great magic. Gravely he welcomed the 
strangers, saying: 

“ ‘ Seven years ago I heard of your coming; 
and from afar off I have followed your jour¬ 
ney. Very brave you have been and boldly 
you have met all the dangers and difficulties of 
the trail. Therefore you are welcome. Tell 
me why it is you have made this long and dan¬ 
gerous journey to see me.’ 

“ ‘ My brother,’ said Badger, ‘ would learn 
the mystery of the magic with which to over¬ 
come the enchantments of the old chief of the 
people by the Big Sea Water, and win for wife 
his daughter, Wechipi, the most handsome of 
all maidens.’ 

“ ‘ That,’ answered Glooskap, ‘ is two wishes. 
One is for skill in magic; the other is for power 
to win the heart of a maiden. And I can grant 
him only one.’ 

“ ‘ Then grant me the power to win the heart 

119 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

of the maiden! ’ cried Little Thunder impul¬ 
sively. 

“ 4 As you wish, so shall it be! ’ said Gloos- 
kap. 

44 Then, turning to Badger, the master of 
men and beasts inquired: 

4 4 4 What is your wish, my son? ’ 

44 Badger had been thinking very fast, and 
he saw what his brother, Little Thunder, had 
not seen, — that the gift to win the heart of the 
maiden, Wechipi, would be of no use to him if 
he did not have the skill to overcome her fa¬ 
ther’s magic. So he said: 

4 4 4 Oh, great Master of Life, I would have 
superior skill in magic so that I may overcome 
the cunning of other men.’ 

4 4 4 As you wish, so shall it be! ’ said Gloos- 
kap. 

44 He placed upon the head of Badger an in¬ 
visible, wonder-working band which endowed 
him with all the power of the Supernatural 
People; and with it he gave him a magic flute, 
saying: 

4 4 4 In this flute is the magic voice of the 
winds. When you play upon it you will have 
power over all things, as the wind has power 

wherever it goes. In it is the greatest of all 

120 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


magic.’ Then he taught him the magic dance 
of the ritual. 

“To Little Thunder he gave a magic root, 
saying: 

When you arrive at the home of Wechipi 
eat this and she will love you above all others.’ 

“ Then pointing across the far-extending 
sea, he said: 

“ ‘ Over there, many days’ journey by water, 
is the home of Wechipi. By this way, which is 
my own pathway, I grant you permission to 
return, so that you may make the journey in 
safety. I will lend you my own magic, self- 
moving canoe, which goes many times faster 
than the fastest racer can run. But you must 
return it to me when you have done with it. 
Face it in this direction and say: 

“ 4 “ Magic canoe, return to him who hath 
made thee! ” ’ 

“ With the rising of the sun, across the Shin¬ 
ing Sea sailed Badger and Little Thunder in 
the magic stone canoe of the master of men and 
beasts. Swift as the wind they sailed; and 
though the distance was very great, so fast did 
they sail that they reached the village by the 
Big Sea Water before the sun had gone to rest 
in his night wigwam. 

121 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ The old chief received them in a very 
friendly manner. It had been many days since 
any one had come to ask for the hand of his 
daughter; and time had begun to hang dull 
upon his hands. So he longed for the excite¬ 
ment and pleasure of seeing another suitor fail 
to accomplish the magic tests he had set for all 
who sought the hand of Wechipi; and of hav¬ 
ing him whipped out of the village by the 
women and the children. 

“ Little Thunder and Badger, as is the cus¬ 
tom with guests in all the land of the Algon- 
quins, were received with great ceremony, and 
the chief and his daughter prepared a feast for 
them. 

‘As Wechipi waited on them, serving them 
without herself tasting anything, Little Thun¬ 
der thought: 

“ ‘ Surely every one has spoken the truth, 
and there is no other maiden so handsome as 
this Wechipi, of the village by the Big Sea 
Water! ’ 

“ When the guests had been served and the 
meal had ended, then the old chief said, and not 
till then, as was his custom: 

Why have you come to visit us? ’ 

I have come because I am tired of living 

122 


<< < 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


alone,’ said Little Thunder; 4 and I would have 
your daughter, Wechipi, for wife.’ 

“ 4 It is well,’ said the chief. 4 But he who 
wins my daughter must prove himself worthy 
to be my son-in-law. I shall try your strength, 
your skill, and your wisdom. If you stand the 
tests I set you, then you shall become my son- 
in-law. Many have come upon the same er¬ 
rand as yourself, among them the bravest, wis¬ 
est and strongest from all lands and people; 
and all have failed and have been whipped out 
of the village by the squaws and the children. 
Are you willing to try to win my daughter, 
Wechipi, on these conditions? ’ 

“ 4 1 am willing,’ answered Little Thunder. 

44 4 Then,’ said the chief, 4 to-morrow, you 
must go forth at sunrise and give battle to the 
great Horned Snake who rules all the land by 
the mountains. When you have slain him, 
bring me his head as a token of your victory! 
This shall be the test of your strength, your 
skill, and your prowess in battle.’ , 

44 Early the following morning, before the 
sun was up, and while every one was still sound 
asleep, Badger stole quietly out of the village 
and went, with the speed of his wondrous 

magic, to the mountains where the Horned 

123 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


King of all the Snakes lived in a great cave in 
the rocks. Wide yawned the mouth of the 
cave like the mouth of a river. 

“ Pulling up the tallest pine tree in the for¬ 
est, Badger placed it lengthwise across the 
mouth of the cave. Then taking his magic 
flute he began to play a strange, wild air upon 
it such as had never before been heard in all the 
land of the Big Sea Water. And as he played 
he danced, in the open space in front of the 
black mouth of the cave, the magic dance that 
Glooskap had taught him, the magic medicine 
dance of the Supernatural People. And the 
great Horned Snake, far within the black 
mouth of the cave, heard the call of magic 
stronger than his own, and he was forced to 
obey it. Forth he came with a noise like the 
low rumbling of thunder; and as he passed 
through the mouth of the cave, and found the 
opening barred from below, he pushed his head 
out above the tree trunk. Just as his neck 
rested, for a moment, on the wood, Badger, 
standing on the trunk, brought his axe down 
upon it and severed the head from the body. 
Then, with the wondrous speed of his magic, he 
returned to the village and laid the head of the 

monster at the door of the chief’s wigwam. 

124 



“Badger, standing on the trunk, severed the head from 

the body.” Page 124. 














THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

There the young men found it at sunrise; and 
as they gathered about it wonderingly, the 
chief came out of his wigwam; and when he 
saw the monster head with its long, yellow 
horns, he thought : 

This suitor must have some powerful 
magic indeed. I shall have to send him against 
my greater magicians/ 

“ The following morning he said to Little 
Thunder: 

“ 4 You did very well yesterday. If you 
continue to do as well as this, you shall surely 
become my son-in-law. But you must prove 
yourself wiser, stronger and more skilful 
than any other in all the land. There are 
here in our village two famous toboggan riders 
who have never been beaten. I would have 
you try your skill against them. You shall 
race down the mountains; and he who arrives 
first at my wigwam shall be declared the win¬ 
ner.’ 

“ The mountains were very high and rough. 
On their sides were vast forests; and their top 
was covered with snow and ice; while below 
and above the great stretches of trees yawned 
many caves and ravines. 

“ 4 1 will race with your toboggan riders,’ 

125 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSIvAP 

said Little Thunder; ‘ and my brother will ride 
with me.’ 

“All the village — men, women and children 
— turned out to see the race, the like of which 
had never before been run, since none of the 
other suitors had been able to overcome the 
great Horned Snake; and so none of them had 
reached the toboggan test. About the lodge of 
the chief they gathered in a great semicircle, 
within which stood the chief himself, his prin¬ 
cipal warriors and two mighty, hairy giants, 
each of which was as tall as the tallest tree in 
the forest. Little Thunder was himself tall 
among his own people, but he was a mere child 
by the side of either of the giants. 

“ The warriors brought out of the store¬ 
house two monster toboggans, each of them 
many times larger than any toboggan Little 
Thunder had ever before seen. They were 
longer than the highest tree in the forest, and 
each was as broad as a wigwam; and their 
great turned-up fronts were as high as the 
ridgepole of the council house. 

Take your choice of these toboggans,’ 
said the chief to Little Thunder, 4 for such is 
your right as strangers among us.’ 

“ One of the toboggans was so handsomely 

126 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


shaped and so beautifully ornamented, and had 
such graceful curves that Little Thunder 
would have chosen it; but Badger, who saw 
with the magic of the eyes of Glooskap, the 
master of all wisdom, said quickly, pointing to 
the other, the more homely: 

“ ‘ We will take this one.’ For he saw that 
the beauty of the handsome toboggan was only 
a thing of evil magic, which the giants had 
made by means of their magical arts, and into 
which they had put all their evil thoughts. On 
this account the toboggan could be managed 
only by the giants themselves. 

“Up the mountain trail went the giants 
swiftly, carrying their toboggan on their 
heads; and close upon their heels followed 
Badger and Little Thunder. So it was not 
long before they reached the summit. 

“ ‘ I will do the steering,’ said Badger, for he 
knew that only by superior magic could the to¬ 
boggan be managed and the giants beaten in 
the race. 

“ As both the toboggans were pushed off 
from the snow-covered summit of the moun¬ 
tains and started swiftly down the trail, the 
giants fell behind. Then Little Thunder said 
to Badger: 


127 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ ‘ You have made a good choice, brother. 
Our toboggan is swifter than theirs and we 
shall surely beat them.’ 

“ But Badger, who saw with the eyes of the 
magic of Glooskap, said: 

“ ‘ You are mistaken, brother. They are 
holding in their toboggan, which is swifter than 
ours. It is faster than the fastest wind that 
ever blew, for on its front I have seen painted 
the magic signs and symbols of the great witch 
of the air. They are hanging behind because 
they know they can pass us when they wish. 
They are sure we will not be able to ride 
down these mountains without being thrown 
from the toboggan, and they intend, when this 
happens, to ride over us and kill us, so that we 
may not be able to try the other test. Had we 
chosen the other toboggan we must surely have 
been thrown off, for no one can ride it except 
its maker.’ 

“ Down the rough mountains sped the two 
toboggans at a terrific speed. So swiftly they 
flew they passed over the yawning crevices and 
holes and mouths of caves, jumping them as 
a deer leaps from crag to crag. Over the tops 
of the trees they sailed as a bird skims over the 
meadow. Suddenly the front toboggan seemed 

128 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


to strike something and Little Thunder and 
Badger were thrown from it. The two giants 
shouted with savage glee as they bore down 
upon them, with the intention of running over 
them and crushing them to death. But just 
as they were close upon the two friends, Bad¬ 
ger, who had rolled quickly to one side (while 
Little Thunder had rolled to the other, as they 
had previously agreed to do) using all his 
magic power, jerked his toboggan out of the 
track of the giants, at the very edge of a deep 
abyss. So intent were the giants on running 
them down that they did not notice the danger 
until they were plunging headforemost into 
the great gulf. 

“ Badger and Little Thunder sprang upon 
their toboggan, laughing mockingly. Then 
Badger spoke softly to the toboggan, saying: 

“ ‘ Fly, my good toboggan, fly! ’ 

“ Lightly as a bird the toboggan rose in the 
air and sailed across the wide gulf and over a 
wall of ice on the other side. So swiftly up the 
side of this snow wall had it sped that it rose 
high in the air and thus sailed over a wide 
forest. Just beyond the wood it struck a level, 
slightly sloping trail. Then, rushing still more 
swiftly onward, it climbed the hill on the other 

129 


THE MAGIC OE GLOOSKAP 


side of which was the village by the Big Sea 
Water. As they sped onward down into the 
village, the waiting people raised a great shout 
of joy, for no one except the chief liked the 
giant wizards. 

“ ‘ Where is the other toboggan? ’ inquired 
the chief of Badger and Little Thunder. 

“ 4 It will be here soon. It met with an ac¬ 
cident in the ravine,’ answered Badger. 

“ In a short while the giants came driving 
down the hill very swiftly and shouting their 
song of triumph. Right on toward the village 
they came, boasting and singing: 

“ 4 Far up on the mountains we passed them; 
On the wings of the wind flew by them; 

Left them behind on the uplands; 

Wechipi’s creeping suitors; 

Suitors of the great chief’s daughter. 

Loudly they called as we passed them; 

Loud as the thunder calls on the uplands. 

But the roar of their voices was silenced 
By the grinding of our toboggan 
On the rocky ribs of the mountains; 

By the racing of our toboggan 
On the fearful trail of the uplands. 

Dead are Wechipi’s suitors; 

Suitors of the great chief’s daughter; 

And their bones shall be picked by the eagles, 
By the ravenous birds of the mountains.’ 

130 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ Right into the village drove the giants, 
shouting their song of victory. Suddenly they 
saw Badger, Little Thunder and the other to¬ 
boggan, and the boasting died upon their lips. 

“ Then Badger, turning to the chief, said: 

“ 4 How kind are our friends! They have 
already sung our song of triumph for us better 
than we could have sung it ourselves. So we 
have no need to sing it.’ 

44 Black as the thunder cloud upon the moun¬ 
tains were the faces of the giants, as the people 
mocked them, singing the refrain of their song 
of triumph: 

s' > 

“ 4 Far up on the mountains we passed them; 

On the wings of the winds flew by them; 

Left them behind on the uplands; 

Wechipi’s creeping suitors; 

Suitors of the great chief’s daughter.’ 

44 But the chief interposed, saying: 

44 4 This is no time for mocking brave men. 
The race has been well contested by both par¬ 
ties. Let us give all honor to the strangers 
who have won it, but let us also remember that 
never before have our friends been beaten/ 

44 The following day the chief said to Little 
Thunder: 


131 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


“ ‘ My son-in-law must be the swiftest of all 
men. We have here in our village a runner 
who has never been beaten in a race. I would 
have you run against him.’ 

“ And Little Thunder answered: 

“ 4 1 will run against him.’ 

“ This famous runner was a brother of the 
giants of the toboggan race, and he was a still 
greater magician than they. So powerful was 
his magic that he could transform himself into 
anything he wished by simply wishing to be 
that thing. All this Badger learned by the 
wondrous cunning of his magic band, and he 
said to Little Thunder: 

“ ‘ He against whom you have to race is a 
very great magician and unless we have greater 
magic than he you must surely lose the race. 
So you must take my magic flute with you. 
Play upon it and you will be able to change 
yourself into any shape you wish.’ 

“ As the two runners stood together, waiting 
for the signal for the race to begin, Little 
Thunder said to the giant: 

“ ‘ What is your name? ’ 

Every one calls me the Northern Light/ 
answered the giant boastingly. ‘ And what is 
your name? ’ 


132 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

People call me Lightning from the 
Clouds,’ answered Little Thunder. 

You will need to be as swift as your 
name if you expect to win this race,’ said the 
giant. 

“ 4 1 shall wait until the race is over to do 
my boasting,’ replied Little Thunder. 

“ 4 In that you are very wise,’ said the giant, 
looking down with a smile of contempt on his 
little adversary. 

44 Little Thunder made no reply, but taking 
the magic flute from the bosom of his hunting 
shirt, he began to play very softly on it; and as 
he played the winged, invisible Spirit of the 
Lightning came swiftly down from the clouds 
and whispered to him: 

“ 4 Fear not, Little Thunder, my son, for I 
have covered your feet with the swiftest of all 
moccasins.’ 

44 And Little Thunder, looking down, saw 
that his feet were shod with wondrous shining 
moccasins. 

44 And while he was looking at his feet, the 
chief said: 

44 4 This race is to be run into the far South¬ 
land. He who runs farthest south and returns 

first shall be adjudged the winner. Each must 

133 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


bring with him some token of the farthest 
Southland he has reached.’ 

“ It was still early morning when the race 
began and already the sun had scarcely begun 
to show himself in the east. So swiftly did 
the racers run that both were almost instantly 
out of sight, for the giant had changed himself 
into the Light of the North, and Little Thun¬ 
der ran just as swiftly as the Lightning 
from the Clouds whose magic moccasins he 
wore. 

“ All the morning they ran side by side, and 
neither could gain on the other. Southward, 
ever southward they flew, and warmer and ever 
warmer it became. Soon the giant began 
to breathe heavily, for he was not used 
to the great heat of the southern land. 
Slower and slower he went, and Little Thun¬ 
der ran far ahead of him. To the very outer 
side of the world he ran. Then, plucking a 
branch with its flowers from a very strange 
tree that grows only in the farthest Southland, 
he hurried back as fast as his magic moccasins 
could travel; and just at noon he reached the 
village by the Big Sea Water, where he found 
all the people still assembled, waiting for the 
return of the runners. 

134 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


Where is Light of the North? ’ inquired 
the chief. 

He was a little tired from the heat, but he 
is on the way and will no doubt be back soon/ 
answered Little Thunder, as the people all ac¬ 
claimed him the victor. 

“ It was almost sundown when Light of the 
North came limping into the village, half dead 
from the heat and the fatigue of the race. 

“ That evening the chief said to Little 
Thunder: 

“ 4 1 have one more test and only one for 
you. If you win this then you shall surely be 
my son-in-law. I know you are an invincible 
warrior; that no one can run a toboggan so 
fast as you; and that you are swiftest of foot 
of all runners. I would now have you prove 
yourself fastest in the water. In our village 
there is a diver whom no one has ever beaten. 
To-morrow you shall compete with him to 
prove who is the greatest of all divers.’ 

44 4 1 will dive against him,’ said Little Thun¬ 
der. 

44 The diver was the youngest brother of the 
giants, and like all the family of enchanters, 

, he was a very powerful magician and could 

change himself into any form he wished. 

135 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

This, too, Badger learned by his magic. So 
he said to Little Thunder: 

“ ‘ Brother, this diver is a very great magi¬ 
cian ; you must again take my magic flute with 
you, so that you may have magic more power¬ 
ful than his.’ 

“ As the two divers stood upon a high cliff 
overlooking the sea, Little Thunder said to 
the giant: 

“ ‘ Brother, what is your name? ’ 

“ And the giant answered boastingly: 

“ ‘ Every one calls me the Great Sea Duck, 
for she is the best and swiftest of all divers. 
What is your name? ’ 

“ And Little Thunder answered: 

“ ‘ People call me the Sea Loon, for he, too, 
is a very great diver.’ 

“ ‘ You will need to be a greater diver than 
the Sea Loon,’ said the giant, with a mocking 
laugh; ‘ for all the loons have fled from here 
in shame, leaving the shore to the sea ducks. 
If you are no swifter or longer-breathed than 
the loon, you will surely lose this contest.’ 

Boasting is not doing,’ answered Little 
Thunder. ‘ I shall wait until the diving con¬ 
test is over to sing my song of victory.’ 

“ ‘ You would be very much wiser to sing it 

136 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


now,’ replied the giant, ‘ for if you stay as 
long under water as you surely must, if you 
expect to win this race, you are more than 
likely to come up dead.’ 

Diving has never yet killed a loon,’ an¬ 
swered Little Thunder, as he began to play 
softly on his magic flute. 

“ ‘ I have no time for music,’ said the giant, 
as he dived into the sea and instantly changed 
himself into a monster Sea Duck. 

“ Softly Little Thunder continued to play 
on his magic flute, singing to the accompani¬ 
ment : 

“ 4 Little Thunder, 

Son of Black Cloud, 

Calls to his father, 

Calls entreatingly, 

Calls insistingly; 

Calls with the voice 
Of the magic flute; 

Calls with the breath 
Of the magic wind; 

Calls from the shore 
Of the deep, deep sea; 

Calls to his father 
For help in need; 

Calls unceasingly.’ 

“As the chant ended Little Thunder was 

137 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSIvAP 


suddenly changed into a monster loon, greater 
than any bird that had ever before been seen 
in the world. Into the great chief of all the 
loons, into the master of all the sea loons was 
he changed. Straight into the sea, in the track 
of the giant, he dove; downward, straight 
downward toward the bottom of the sea; dove 
most powerfully; dove most swiftly. 

“ The giant continued to dive downward for 
over an hour. Then, sure that no one else 
could stay so long under water, he returned to 
the surface, more dead than alive. He was so 
weak he had to be helped to the shore. 

“ Another hour had passed and still Little 
Thunder had not appeared. Then all the peo¬ 
ple said among themselves: 

“ ‘ The stranger must surely be dead, for no 
one could stay so long under water and live. 
He must indeed surely be dead ! 9 

“ When another hour had passed and still 
he had not appeared, nearly every one left the 
cliff with the giant who boasted, on the way 
to the village, of having passed his adversary 
on the way to the bottom of the deepest sea. 
He said, imitating the heavy breathing of the 
porpoise: 

Then he was puffing like a spent por- 

138 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 

poise, like a lumbering sea porpoise; breathing 
like a short-breathed old woman, like a cough¬ 
ing old woman.’ 

“ All that afternoon the giant sat in front 
of the council house boasting of his prowess, 
and the older men sat about him admiringly; 
but the younger men, who remembered the 
great deeds of Little Thunder, thought: 

“ 4 He was truly very strong and very wise, 
this stranger, very brave and very skilful, and 
he was never a boaster. It is a great pity 
he was not as great a diver as he was a warrior 
and a runner.’ 

“ And the maidens thought: 

“‘He was truly very brave and very hand¬ 
some, this young stranger.’ 

“ Pity for Little Thunder was in the hearts 
of the young men and the maidens. 

“ Just at sundown, a runner came in all 
haste from the cliff, shouting: 

“ 4 The stranger has come back. He has 
been down into the Under World, into the very 
fountain of the first waters. Underneath the 
earth he has dived to the very outer edge of 
all land.’ 

44 In a rage the giant sprang up, shouting: 

“ 4 It is a lie! He has hidden somewhere 

139 


THE MAGIC OF GLOOSKAP 


and now he comes back with this story. No 
one could stay from daylight until dark under 
the water and still come out alive.’ 

“ But the people heard him not nor heeded 
him, for they were running toward the cliff to 
welcome back Little Thunder whom they met 
returning to the village. Fresh he seemed as 
in the morning when he dived from the cliff 
into the sea. In his girdle he bore, as a token 
of his visit to the outer edge of the world where 
it floats on the Primeval Ocean, strange plants 
unseen before, unknown before of men. 

“ When the giant saw these strange plants 
from the very bottom of the Primeval Ocean, 
he stole quietly out of the village while all were 
busy welcoming Little Thunder, for he knew 
that the magic of the stranger was greater than 
his own. 

“ The chief welcomed Little Thunder back, 
saying: 

U T have lost a daughter, but in losing her 
I have won a very good son, a very proper son- 
in-law.’ 

“ And all the people said together: 

Yes, a very good son; a very proper son- 
in-law.’ ” 


140 


VIII 


LITTLE THUNDER’S WEDDING JOURNEY 

“ Did Little Thunder and Badger remain in 
the village by the Great Sea Water, or did 
they go home, or what became of them, 
Iagoo? ” inquired the Factor. 

“ They went home in the magic canoe of 
Glooskap, the master of men and beasts,” said 
Iagoo; “ but that’s another story which the peo¬ 
ple call £ Little Thunder’s Wedding Journey,’ 
though it might better have been called the 
journey of Badger, for he had more to do with 
it than his brother.” 

“ Tell us the story of 4 Little Thunder’s 
Wedding Journey,’ Iagoo,” said the Factor. 

44 This,” said Iagoo, 44 is the story of Little 
Thunder’s Wedding Journey to the En¬ 
chanted Island of Glooskap and from there 
back to his own home. 

44 The marriage feast of Little Thunder and 
Wechipi, in which all the people of the village 
by the Big Sea Water took part, was a very 

splendid affair; and as the stately husband and 

141 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


the beautiful wife waited on their guests, the 
old women whispered to one another: 

“ ‘ Who has ever before seen such a hand¬ 
some couple? ’ 

“‘So handsome, so wise, and so brave!’ 
sighed the maidens, their eyes fixed on Little 
Thunder, and all envious of the good fortune 
of the bride. 

“ ‘ So beautiful, so graceful, and so at her 
ease,’ said the young men, who had thoughts 
only of Wechipi. 

“ The wedding guests formed themselves 
into two long processions, one of women, at the 
head of which was Wechipi; the other of men 
led by Little Thunder. After marching 
around and then through the center of the vil¬ 
lage, the procession of married women and 
girls, all dressed in their finest garments, en¬ 
tered the council chamber and seated them¬ 
selves on the floor in the center of the build¬ 
ing. Then followed the procession of young 
men and old who took their places in a circle 
round about the women. When they were all 
seated the chief, taking his daughter by the 
hand, formally presented her to Little Thun¬ 
der. All the wedding guests drew back to the 
walls of the great council chamber. Then Lit- 

142 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


tie Thunder, leading his wife into the vacant 
central space, danced with her the opening or 
ceremonial dance. They were followed by 
other dancers, who, one after another, each 


danced his favorite dance. Then others danced 
in couples or in groups, after which all the 
guests and the bridal couple danced together 
the tribal dance to the accompaniment of 
flutes, drums and rattles. 

“ At midnight the chief, closing the cere¬ 
monies, summoned all to a banquet given by 
the tribe to Little Thunder and his bride who, 
this time, sat down together and ate as a sign 
that they were to live and eat together for .the 
rest of their lives. 

“ At the close of the banquet a very old and 
wise man addressed the wedding couple, say¬ 
ing: 


a i 


Henceforth you must live and work to¬ 
gether, the one ever aiding and comforting 
the other. If you do this you will make life 
useful and happy; if you do not you will make 
it as useless and helpless as a bow without a 
string. When the husband is lazy and a poor 
hunter, the wife has little heart in her work. 
When the woman is a gossip and spends her 
time in the wigwams of her neighbors instead 

143 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 

of attending* to her duties at home, then the 
husband is likely to be found among the gam¬ 
blers and the players of games and sports in¬ 
stead of at the hunt. Work together, there¬ 
fore, both of you, that you may reap the good 
harvest at the reaping time.’ 

“ When Little Thunder had thanked the old 
man for his wise advice, the older men accom¬ 
panied him and the older women went with 
Wechipi to the bridal wigwam, and the mar¬ 
riage feast of the first day was over. 

“ For the next six days followed games and 
sports in which Badger and Little Thunder 
distinguished themselves above all others. 
Each night the festivities ended with a dance 
followed by a banquet at midnight. On the 
last day the medicine men and the very wise 
sachems danced their magic dances and sang 
their magic songs that the newly-wedded might 
be happy and fortunate in life. The women 
made presents to the chief’s daughter, as a 
farewell offering, for, in the morning, she and 
Little Thunder were to begin their wedding 
journey back over the long trail to the home 
of his people. 

“ Last of all Badger danced the wizard 
dance, the mystic dance he had learned from 

144 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


the master of men and beasts. Like a whirl¬ 
wind he danced, turning round and round so 
swiftly he appeared like a white streak as he 
moved in and out among the people. Up and 
down and all about the council house he danced. 
Then, into the middle of the room, he spun 
round and round, still moving his feet as in 
the dance. Round and round he spun on the 
hard-beaten earth, on the earth made hard by 
the feet of many dancers; and as he spun he 
bored into the earth. Deeper and deeper he 
sank until his body was half hidden by the 
ever-deepening hole made by his burrowing 
feet. Springing suddenly out, he began danc¬ 
ing up and down the dancing space, cutting 
great furrows in the ground and throwing up 
the loose earth like the walls of an entrench¬ 
ment. Up and down the trench he danced 
until only his head was above the ground. As 
the people looked on, wondering at this strange 
dance which they had seen for the first time, at 
this dance of magic and deep-meaning sym¬ 
bols, Badger disappeared from sight, in the 
trench dug by his dancing feet. And as the 
guests sat there wondering, he sprang lightly 
out of the earth, fresh as though he had never 
danced a step. 


145 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 

“ Wechipi said, smiling with pleasure: 

“ ‘ Truly a great and wonderful dance 
worthy of a wedding day.’ 

“ And all the people assented: 

“ 4 Yes, truly a great and wonderful dance 
worthy of the wedding day of the chief’s 
daughter.’ 

“ The chief said gravely: 

“ 4 The dance is now over, since no one can 
dance on a floor cut and scarred like a battle¬ 
field made ready for defence.’ 

44 The following morning all the village, 
standing upon the shore of the Big Sea Water, 
bade good-bye to Little Thunder and Wechipi. 
And as they sailed away with Badger, sailed 
swiftly away in the magic canoe of the master 
of men and beasts, the singers of the tribe sang 
them a last farewell: 

“ 6 Ever happy may you be, 

Stranger come to us from far off, 

To the village by the sea, 

By the mighty Big Sea Water. 

Stranger, great and powerful, 

Stranger, wise and cunning, 

Ever happy may you be 
In that shining land so distant, 

Over by the golden sunset 
Where the Island of the Master 

146 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


Rises out of gloom and darkness, 

Lifts aloft its snowy summit 
High above the mists of cloudland 
That surround his fearful dwelling. 
Happy be you, stranger husband 
Of the tribe’s most handsome daughter, 
Of the tribe’s most winsome maiden, 

Of the chief’s most lovely offspring. 

“ 6 Happy may you be, oh, Badger, 

Most powerful of all wizards, 

Most skilful of all dancers, 

Of all magicians greatest; 

Beloved of the master, 

Of the greatest of all masters, 

Of the ever-mighty Glooskap. 

Happy may you be, oh, Badger, 

In that shining land so distant, 

Over by the golden sunrise 
Where the Island of the Master 
Rises out of gloom and darkness, 

High above the mists of cloudland 
That surround his fearful dwelling. 
Happy be you, cunning brother 
Of the husband of our daughter, 

Of our sachem’s lovely daughter, 

Of the tribe’s most winsome maiden. 

“ 6 Happ}' may you be, Wechipi, 

Our chief’s tall and handsome daughter, 
Our chief’s winsome, lovely daughter. 
Happy may you be, Wechipi, 

147 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


In the distant land of strangers, 

In the land of shining morning. 

May good fortune favor you 
In your husband’s distant home; 

In the lodge of Little Thunder; 

In the land beyond the sea 
Where the mighty Big Sea Water 
Washes shores we know not; 

Washes lands we’ve seen not; 

Bears canoes of other nations; 

Echoes shouts of other warriors. 

Fare you well, beloved Wechipi, 

Loveliest, you, of all our daughters.’ 

“ Thus they passed out of sight of the shore, 
passed swiftly out of sight of the land, the 
voices of the singers speeding them onward. 

“ Scarcely had the canoe disappeared from 
the view of the villagers when a terrible storm 
arose, a storm such as had never before been 
seen upon the Big Sea Water. 

“ Badger, who knew that such a storm could 
only be a thing of magic raised by the old chief, 
the father-in-law of his brother, began to play 
on his magic flute the wild music of the tem¬ 
pest, while Little Thunder sang the tempest 
song. The storm, which was racing toward 
them over the widest stretch of waters, piled 

itself up like a great white wall, powerless to 

148 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


advance farther against the wondrous music 
of the magic flute and the strength of the magic 
song. 

“ Long and loud laughed Badger as, blow¬ 
ing upon the great white wall of the tempest, 
he scattered it as the winds scatter the thunder 
clouds. Far over the sea he scattered it as the 
winds scatter the clouds over the sky-land. 
Then the sun smiled upon a vast expanse of 
water as quiet as the midday land on a summer 
day at noontime. 

“ They had not gone far when they saw 
something like a great black cloud far out on 
the horizon. On it came swiftly toward them. 
It was taller than many trees. Swimming 
swiftly through the water it came. 

“ By his magic Badger knew it was the king 
of all the beavers, the largest of all his tribe, 
and fiercer than the fiercest beast in all the 
forest; so once more he played upon his magic 
flute, making it groan and shriek like the wind 
spirits riding upon the tempest, while Little 
Thunder shouted his war song: 

66 4 Wizard of weaker magic, 

Chief of the beaver tribe, 

Scourge of the land and sea, 

Worker of evil art, 

149 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 

Tremble in fear, 

For thy fate is near; 

For I, the foe of thy tribe, 

The hunter of all thy race, 

The terror of all thy kind, 

Am coming to meet thee apace. 

On the wings of the wind I come; 

The voice of the wind is mine; 

The fearful voice of the storm. 

As I sing my song I think of the dead, 

Of the many beaver dead 

That the might of my hand has slain; 

And I laugh with the laughing wind; 

And I shriek with the shrieking gale; 

For the greatest of all thy tribe, 

Most dreaded of all thy race, 

Shall die by my hand to-day.’ 

“ On came the Great Beaver, unheeding the 
war song of Little Thunder, for he had never 
yet met any one who dared stand before him. 
As he came close to the canoe, he raised his 
great tail, longer than a wigwam; but before 
he could bring it down upon the vessel, Little 
Thunder cleft it from end to end with one blow 
of his tomahawk, and the beaver disappeared 
beneath the water with a terrible cry of fear 
and pain. 

“‘Beaver, I knew you were a coward!’ 
shouted Little Thunder tauntingly. ‘ Had 

150 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


you hit me with your axe I should not have 
cried out in pain and fear. I should have suf¬ 
fered it in silence like a warrior! ’ 

“ But the beaver made no answer. He had 
dived deep down into the sea, leaving a broad 
trail of blood behind him, which spread and 
covered the water far and near. 

“ Little Thunder sang his song of victory, 
as they sailed over the sunlit sea, over the Big 
Sea Water, over the Ocean of the Great Spirit. 
Loudly he sang it; and the great gray sea 
loons looked wonderingly at him who had come 
to disturb their peace where man had never 
been before. 

“ As the magic canoe rounded a great cliff 
they came suddenly upon a mighty form that 
projected itself far out into the sea of waters. 
Onward it came, driving before it a great wall 
of mist. Far ahead of it stretched the mist, so 
that its outer edge enveloped the canoe, while 
the farther end was on the distant horizon. 
Terrible was the stench of the mist. 

“ Badger knew, by his magic, that the new 
enemy was the King of all the Skunks, the 
most evil-smelling of all beasts, who had blown 
his poisonous breath upon them to kill them. 
So he began playing upon his magic flute, and 

151 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


the awful stench retreated as the canoe ad¬ 
vanced upon it, piling itself up thicker and 
thicker about the King of all the Skunks, who 
thus could not see that the canoe was coining 
toward him; but Badger, by his magic, per- 
ceived the huge form of the skunk, through the 
ever-thickening mist, and hurling his spear, he 
pierced him through the body. With a howl 
of pain, the huge beast sprang upon the low 
shore of the great cliff, and Badger, following 
after him, seized him by the tail and, swinging 
him about his head, hurled him into the top of 
a high pine tree, saying: 

Stay there until the crows pick your 
bones, you most evil smelling of all evil 
things! ’ 

“ As they sailed onward over the sunlit sea, 
the cries of the great skunk were ever in their 
ears, for he could not free himself from the 
pine tree, a branch of which had pierced him 
through and through; and he feared that Bad¬ 
ger, by his magic, might send the crows and 
vultures upon him as he had threatened. 

Have pity upon me, oh, great magician, 
have pity upon me! ’ he cried, ‘ and do not let 
the vultures pick my eyes out! ’ 

“ Badger shouted back over the waters: 

152 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


“ ‘ Have no fear, great coward, for not even 
a crow would pick the bones of such an evil 
thing as you! ’ 

“ As they sailed onward toward the setting 
sun, over the sea came a vast bulk, so huge it 
shut out the light of the day. As it came 
nearer and nearer, from its head sprang two 
rivers of water which, rising high into the air, 
fell to the earth like two glistening, many-col¬ 
ored rainbows. 

“ By his magic Badger knew this was the 
King of all the Whales, the most fearful beast 
of the sea, so he cried: 

“ 4 My good magic, make me many times 
taller than the tallest tree in the forest! ’ 

“ At once he began to grow. Upward he 
stretched until he reached the very clouds, and 
with him grew his spear, his magic spear, which 
became longer than the trunk of the tallest 
tree that ever grew. 

“ As the whale rushed upon him, Badger 
struck him with his monster spear; fair in the 
middle of the body he struck him. Then 
raising him lightly as though he had been 
a plaything, he shoved him in among the 
clouds. 

“ Fearfully the whale roared, loud as the 

153 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


thunder voices from the heart of the moun¬ 
tains, and begged for mercy. 

“ ‘ What an old woman you are, great King 
of the Whales,’ cried Badger contemptuously. 
‘ Had you speared me in this way, I would 
never have uttered a groan. Go back into the 
water and join your fishes that they may know 
what a coward they have for a leader! ’ 

“ Saying this, he hurled the whale, with a 
sudden jerk of his mighty spear, far across the 
Big Sea Water, where, still bellowing, it sank 
out of sight. 

“ For many days they sailed in the magic 
canoe, over the Big Sea Water, over the sunlit 
sea, and still many other adventures they met 
with, encounters with the cunning and power¬ 
ful wizards of the Old Chief. But Badger, by 
the greatness of his magic, overcame them all, 
and thus at last they came to the home of 
Glooskap, far on the outer borders of the 
Big Sea Water. There on the shore was the 
master waiting to receive them. To Bad¬ 
ger, as he drew his canoe upon the shore, he 
said: 

“ ‘ The magic you so wished for, has it been 
all you desired, my son ? ’ 

“ And Badger, remembering the many won- 

154 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


ders he had worked since he had left the home 
of Glooskap, answered: 

Great lord of beasts and men, no one 
could wish for more.’ 

“ Then turning to Little Thunder, Glooskap 
inquired: 

“ 4 And you, great chief, has your magic 
worked your heart’s desire? ’ 

44 And Little Thunder answered, smiling, 
looking at Wechipi: 

44 4 Has not the master of beasts and men 
eyes to see? ’ 

44 And the Master said, smiling too: 

4 4 4 Yours is the answer of the young man 
who ever thinks all the world sees with the 
eyes of love.’ 

44 Twice four days remained Little Thunder, 
Badger and Wechipi at the island home of 
Glooskap. And these were twice four days of 
wonder. Then on the ninth day they set out 
for home over the Big Sea Water in the magic 
stone canoe. Twice four days they traveled 
homeward; but they were uneventful days, for 
they were now beyond the power of the magic 
of the Old Chief. When at last they reached 
their own land, Badger faced the stone canoe 

toward the home of Glooskap, saying: 

155 


LITTLE THUNDER’S JOURNEY 


“ ‘ Stone canoe, go back to him who made 
thee and gave thee life, to the Master of Men 
and Beasts.’ 

“ The stone canoe glided swiftly over the 
waters and was soon out of sight.” 


156 


IX 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

The Factor had a handsome, full-blooded 
collie of which he was very proud. He and 
the dog were inseparable companions. The 
collie sat gravely through the meetings around 
the Wigwam fire in which he seemed to take 
as much interest as though he were a member 
of the camp, as indeed he had a perfect right 
to consider himself, for he had been present at 
the first assembly, and, since then, he had been 
as regular in his attendance as the Factor him¬ 
self; and any one would have admitted that 
was a pretty good record. 

One day Orono was absent from the regular 
meeting around the Wigwam fire, and the Fac¬ 
tor, missing him, inquired: 

“ Where is our great story-teller? ” 

As if in answer to this inquiry of his master, 
the collie barked joyfully, as the figure of 
Orono darkened the doorway. 

“ He understands every word I say,” said 
the Factor, patting the animal’s head; “and 

157 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

he can even speak in his own way so that I 
can generally understand him.” 

“ Many years ago,” said Orono, “ the Great 
Spirit decreed that the dog should be the only 
animal that should understand man, and that 
he should come the nearest of all animals to 
making himself understood by him.” 

“ And why, Orono, did the Great Spirit de¬ 
cree this? ” inquired the Lawyer. 

“ Because the dog was the only one friendly 
to man at the Great Council of the Animals,” 
answered Orono. 

“ Tell us about the Great Council of the 
Animals, Orono,” said the Factor. 

And Orono began: 

“ This is the story of the first Great Council 
of the Animals, that is, the first council at 
which man was not present. 

“ Away back in the days of our ancestors all 
the animals talked just as men do now. In 
those days they all met together, from time to 
time, around the camp fire, men and animals, 
in a great peace council. This was in the early 
time before man had begun to learn things. 
He was still so ignorant that the least of the 
animals knew more than he, and they all had 

pity on him and said among themselves: 

158 



“They all met together, from time to time, around the 

camp fire. ,v Page 158. 










WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


“ 4 This man is such a know-nothing he is a 
shame to us all. Let us teach him so that he 
may not be such an ignorant fellow; so that he 
shall no longer know nothing. What is there 
of all the knowledge of the world that he 
knows? He cannot build houses like the 
beaver, or climb trees like the raccoon, or run 
swiftly like the deer; neither can he fight his 
enemies like the wolf, the tiger and the bear. 
He cannot fish like the otter, or dive like the 
muskrat. He has not the cunning of the fox, 
and he does not know how to lie in wait for 
his enemies like the panther. He is ignorant 
of all the things that we animals know. He is 
a very ignorant fellow indeed.’ 

“ Thus all the animals had pity on man, and 
they discussed ways and means of helping him. 

44 4 The best thing to do,’ said the wise old 
owl, who presided at the meeting, 4 is for each 
of us here present to say what he is willing to 
do for man to make him a little wiser and more 
like the rest of us, for if we do not do some¬ 
thing to save him he must surely perish from 
the face of the earth.’ 

4 4 4 He needs to know how to build houses,’ 
said the beaver, 4 for he has not a covering of 

thick hair to protect himself as we have. So 

159 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


he suffers very much from the cold, and he is 
often hungry when the snow is on the ground 
because he does not know how to find things 
to eat. I will teach him how to build houses 
and catch fish/ 

“ 4 Man is a poor, miserable, cowardly fel¬ 
low,’ said the bear. 4 I will teach him how to 
fight his enemies, to put them to flight and to 
live in safety in his own land.’ 

“ 4 And I will teach him to lead his braves in 
battle and to follow the trail,’ said the wolf. 

44 4 And I,’ said the dog, 4 will teach him to 
have patience, tact and watchfulness, and to 
be ever faithful to his friends and to those who 
trust him.’ 

44 4 He crawls along the ground like a miser¬ 
able snail,’ said the raccoon. 4 1 will teach him 
how to climb trees and to hide in the thick 
foliage of the branches.’ 

When you have taught him all these 
things,’ said the panther, 4 1 will show him how 
to make proper use of them. I will teach him 
to follow the trail among the rocks and through 
the thickets, and to hide himself in cliffs and 
caves, in trees and jungles, there to await his 
enemy and to spring suddenly upon him.’ 

And I,’ said the fox, 4 when you have 

160 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


taught him all these things, will teach him how 
to flatter, to deceive and to cheat his enemies.’ 

“ All the animals did as they had agreed, 
and it was not long before man became 
stronger, swifter, more patient and more cun¬ 
ning than the strongest, swiftest, most patient 
and most cunning of them all. Everything the 
animals knew he knew. He built better and 
more comfortable houses than the beaver, and 
devised ways of catching fish that the beaver 
had never thought of. With the trees that he 
had cut down to build his houses he made fires 
to keep himself warm. So in the coldest 
weather he was warmer even than the beaver 
with his thick coat of fur. He fought better and 
more bravely than the bear and found many 
new ways of attacking his enemy. Stones, clubs, 
darts, spears and arrows he invented and used, 
until at last the bear himself became afraid of 
man and did not dare invite him to battle. He 
followed the trail better and led his warriors 
into battle more bravely than the wolf himself, 
and he was more faithful to his friends and had 
more tact, patience and watchfulness than the 
dog. He learned to climb trees, and he forced 
the panther so far out on the dizzy places that 

it made his old head swim. He laid more cun- 

161 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

ning schemes to track or mislead his enemies 
than the panther had ever conceived, and he 
not only followed the trail better than the wolf 
and the dog, but he learned to cover up his own 
tracks so cunningly that not even the keenest 
animal could detect them. All the foxes in 
the world could not cheat, deceive and flatter 
so well as one single man. 

i 

“ The animals began to say to one another: 

“ ‘ Man is no longer a miserable, ignorant 
fellow. There is nothing we know that he does 
not know, and whatever he does he does it bet¬ 
ter than we. He has become the master of us 
all.’ 

“ Thus they talked, and as they talked they 
became more discontented. By and by they 
began to meet in little groups, in secret, to tell 
one another their troubles. The bolder spirits 
proposed a great council of all the animals to 
which no man was to be invited. In this it 
was to be different from any council ever be¬ 
fore held. 

Let us hold it in secret,’ said the fox. 
‘ Let it be very secret, for, if it is not, man will 
be sure to find out all about it and then there 
will be trouble.’ 

I don’t care for secret meetings,’ said the 

162 


(( 6 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


bear, ‘ on general principles, but this seems to 
be an occasion when we must certainly cover 
up our tracks. We are to decide what we are 
to do with man so that he may not lord it over 
us. So we must not let him know what we are 
about to do or what we have done when we 
have done it.’ 

“ All the other animals agreed with the bear. 
Finally it was decided to hold the meeting in 
the dead of the night when man must surely 
be asleep. The assembly place was to be deep 
in the heart of the forest. All the animals 
were summoned to meet there and to cover up 
their tracks so that there might be no way for 
man to know that the meeting had taken place. 

“ The owl, as before, presided at the meet¬ 
ing, and the wolf was the first speaker, for he 
liked to put himself forward on all occasions 
where there was a crowd to listen to him and 
especially where there was no danger. He 
said: 

“ ‘ Brothers, there is no doubt we made a 
great mistake when we took pity on man and 
taught him our secrets, for he is not like the 
rest of us. Each of us has something he can 
do better than any one else, but he does not 

want to learn anything more. He is perfectly 

163 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

content with what he knows and what his fa¬ 
ther knew. But this is not the way with man. 
He is not satisfied with what he knows. He 
is not even satisfied with what he learns. He 
wants to do things better than any one else, 
and to-morrow he always does what he does 
better than to-day. It is not right that one 
individual should thus take to himself all the 
knowledge of the world, which the Great Spirit 
has divided among us, a little to this one and 
a little to that one, as it has always been from 
the beginning. This, as any one can see, is the 
natural way. The beaver builds houses and 
cuts down trees; the eagle flies above the clouds 
and speaks with the thunder birds; the squirrel 
piles up his nuts for the winter; the bear knows 
how to sleep the cold season through and not 
get hungry; the bee makes and stores up his 
honey; the dog follows the trail with his nose; 
the wolf leads his braves into battle. Thus 
each animal has some special knowledge which 
helps him to live and protects him from dan¬ 
ger, or cold or hunger or heat. But now man 
has taken all this knowledge to himself, and he 
has so improved upon what he has learned 
through our kind-heartedness and foolishness, 

that he has made his knowledge so wide and 

164 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


deep that not one of us is safe from him. And 
we never shall be until we have all this knowl¬ 
edge to ourselves again. There is only one 
way to accomplish this. We must put man out 
of the wav, and we must see to it that no one 
else shall again gather to himself all our knowl¬ 
edge.’ 

“ 4 You have made a long and very good 
speech, brother wolf,’ said the owl. 4 But how 
do you propose to get all this knowledge back 
from man? We know very well that anything 
he once gets he never loses; and now that he 
has our secrets he is, you may be sure, going to 
do his best to keep them.’ 

“ 4 That’s just the trouble,’ agreed the wolf. 
4 And that’s why I would have no pity on him. 
Let me organize a war party of all the animals, 
and let me lead it as I lead my braves into 
battle. We’ll rush upon man in the middle of 
the night when he is asleep and kill every one 
in the village, — men, women and children. 
We’ll not leave a single one of the man race to 
remember the things we have been foolish 
enough to teach them.’ 

44 4 That’s not a good plan,’ objected the 
panther. 4 There’s too much fighting in the 
open, and too much danger where there’s no 

165 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

need of it. We are many and man is few. Let 
us all lie in wait for him behind rocks and 
among the branches of the trees, in the thick¬ 
ets, the caves and dark places, and on the tops 
of cliffs; and let us spring suddenly upon him 
when he is not watching us and does not sus¬ 
pect us. In this way we shall be able to kill 
the whole man family without the least danger 
to ourselves.’ 

“ ‘ It seems to me it would be a much better 
plan,’ said the beaver, ‘ to wait until the dead 
of winter, when the cold winds are sending 
their armies of snow and hail and frost from 
the Northland. Then let us come upon the 
man-villages at the dead of night and pull 
down the houses and run off with the clothing 
and the bed robes, and destroy all the food that 
man has piled up for the winter. When we 
have done this, he will be in such a sorry con¬ 
dition he will gladly agree to anything we wish. 
When he has done this he will be just as before 
we were so foolish as to have pity on him and 
help him, for we will force him to give us back 
our secrets, and we will make him dependent 
upon us once more.’ 

“ The fox laughed. 

That might do,’ he said, ‘ if we could get 

166 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


all our knowledge back from man, as beaver 
thinks we could. But we can’t; for he never 
gives up anything* that he has once got into 
his possession, and he never forgets anything 
that he has once learned.’ 

“‘Let us fight this battle fair!’ broke in 
the bear. ‘ I have no patience with these un¬ 
derhand ways. Let us all come together, as 
the wolf suggests, into one great war party, 
and let us drive man up into the mountains 
and keep him there where he can no longer do 
us any harm. Or let us allow him to come 
back only when he agrees to be our servant 
and to always do what we require him to do.’ 

“ The fox laughed again. ‘ I have taught 
him all my tricks,’ he said. ‘ I have showed 
him how to cheat, to steal, to lie, to pretend, 
and now he can cheat, steal, lie and pretend 
better than I and all my tribe together. You 
may be sure that, if we drive him into the 
mountains or destroy all his houses or food, 
he will pretend to submit to any plan we may 
propose. But he will use all our knowledge 
against us and every one of us will suffer. 
Drive him into the mountains and he will come 
back again and hunt and kill us all. I have a 
much better plan than any yet proposed. Let 

167 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


us all pretend to be the very good friends of 
man. Then let us steal his corn, pull up his 
fishing nets and traps and set his boats adrift 
so that they may float down to the Big Sea 
Water and be lost. Let us, in short, cheat 
him out of everything he has, while pretending 
to be his best friends and telling him how sorry 
we are when we learn of his losses. We can 
do all this without any danger to ourselves.’ 

“ ‘ I want to protest against this meeting for 
several reasons,’ said the dog. ‘ In the first 
place it is contrary to custom. At all previous 
meetings man has been with us. Our assem¬ 
blies and our councils have been peaceful, and 
no one has thought of killing any one. But 
now that we have broken the law of our coun¬ 
cil meetings, we have heard of nothing but 
killing and cheating, hatred and lying. Why 
have we broken our custom that has been re¬ 
spected until now ever since the first great 
council? Is it because man has injured us in 
any way? I am sure there is not one of you 
dare say that he has. It is true he has remem¬ 
bered everything each of us has taught him, 
and that out of this knowledge he has made 
more knowledge to grow just as he makes 

much corn grow from a little corn. But he has 

168 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


never injured us in the least. On the contrary, 
often in the cold winter, when there has been 
no food for us animals, he has taken us into 
his house and has fed us. I have lived with 
him for many years, and I know he has 
only kind thoughts for all of us. Never once, 
even when he has had little to eat himself, has 
he refused food to the sick or the needy. He 
is always true to his friends, and he only cheats 
those who would cheat him. If we continue to 
treat him right he will treat us right. But if 
we try to injure him he will certainly pay us 
back. Let us hold another council, and let it 
be, according to custom, with man and all the 
animals present. There we can discuss our 
relations with man, now that he has all our 
knowledge and much more that he has added 
to it. It is quite true that man has become 
much cleverer than we, but he has robbed no 
one in doing so. He is just as friendly toward 
us as he was before, and now he helps us more 
because he knows more. Let us all learn from 
him. Let us teach one another so that we may, 
in time, come to have common knowledge as 
man has. Then we too shall be able to add to 
our knowledge as he does.’ 

“ The speech of the dog made the other ani- 

169 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

mals very angry and they all began to talk and 
to shout and to shriek at the same time, so that 
it was impossible for any one to understand or 
even to hear what any of the others said. 

“ The Great Spirit, who had word of the 
council of the animals and had come down to 
learn what it was all about, had, unseen, lis¬ 
tened to all the speeches, and as he had listened, 
he had grown more and more angry. At last 
he stepped into the council meeting, right into 
the center of it, and said: 

“ ‘ I have placed you all here upon earth, and 
I have given each of you his own peculiar 
knowledge so that you might be all useful and 
contented. And I have provided that each of 
you might never suffer from want or heat or 
cold. To man I have given the gift of learn¬ 
ing all things that he might be good to you 
and that he might make the earth-land more 
habitable. In the days long past I commanded 
that always at the Great Council Fire men 
and animals should meet together to discuss 
their affairs and their relationships with one 
another. But you have met here in secret, 
around a council fire that is not according to 
custom. Because you have broken my com¬ 
mand, your hearts have gone astray. There- 

170 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 

fore you shall never again hold a council fire 
with man. From this day you shall be no 
longer able to speak with him. When man 
hears of this meeting, as he most surely will 
as he hears of all things, the animals will be¬ 
come his prey. The beaver, who would rob 
him of his house, shall furnish him with his 
skin to make his clothing and to line his wig¬ 
wam in winter to keep him warm. The bear, 
the wolf and the panther he shall always treat 
as enemies, and the fox he shall look upon as 
a cheat, a sneak and a thief, and he shall set 
traps and snares for him. The dog has de¬ 
fended man, as he should have done, but he 
had no business coming to this meeting which 
he must have known was not according to cus¬ 
tom. So he shall, therefore, like the rest of 
you, no longer be able to speak. But he and 
man shall not be enemies. He shall live with 
man and shall love and defend him and be his 
good and faithful friend, as he has always been, 
and has shown himself at this council fire. He 
shall come the nearest of all the animals to 
speaking the language of man, and man shall 
understand him when he tries to express his 
thoughts to him. When man dies the dog shall 
go with him to the Happy Hunting Ground, 

m 


WHY ANIMALS DO NOT TALK 


there to be his faithful companion and 
friend.’ 

“ As the Great Spirit decreed so it hap¬ 
pened. Since that day the animals have met 
but seldom around the Great Council Fire, for 
they have learned to fear and to hate one an¬ 
other and to prey the one upon the other. And 
they have all become the prey of man, who has 
gone on increasing his knowledge from day to 
day, until now their fear of him is greater than 
their fear of one another. The dog alone has 
no fear of him.” 

“ It may well be true,” said the Factor, 
stroking the head of the collie who looked up 
into his face comprehendingly. 

“ It is all true,” said Orono with conviction. 


172 


X 


THE LAST GREAT COUNCIL FIRE 

The Factor came into the Wigwam bearing 
a huge bunch of spring flowers in his arms. 
He had lived so long in the open country in 
the far North; had traveled so much with the 
voyageurs and the trappers and had spent so 
many years in visiting posts far apart that he 
had come to look upon the outdoors as his 
natural home. 

“ It is beautiful on the mountains and in the 
woods to-day,” he said. “ The breath of spring 
is in the air everywhere, and the flowers are 
awakening from their long sleep.” 

He was poetical, at times, was the Factor, 
with that sensitive love of nature which is the 
peculiar heritage of the Celt. 

“ It was on a day like this,” said Rene, “ that 
the trees, the plants, the flowers and the roots 
met with the chipmunk around the Last Great 
Council Fire.” 

“ It is a story, Rene? ” interrupted the Law¬ 
yer, an interrogative tone in his voice. 

173 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 

“ Yes,” answered Rene. “ It is a story. It 
is two or three stories in one.” 

“ Tell us about the last council fire, Rene,” 
said the Factor. “ It ought to be a good 
story.” 

“ It is a good story,” affirmed Rene, and he 
began: 

“ When man found out the animals had held 
a great council without him he was very angry, 
and he said: 

“ ‘ The beasts whom I have always treated 
as friends, whom I have sheltered in my wig¬ 
wam in the winter and to whom I have given 
food to eat when they were hungry, have 
plotted to kill me. I will hunt them in the 
valleys and on the hills and in the open country 
and in the deep forest, and they shall learn 
what it means to have made me their enemy.’ 

“ And man did as he had said he would. 
He tracked the bear to his mountain cave, he 
followed the trail of the wolf, and he laughed 
at him when he came forth with his braves to 
meet him. He broke down the dam of the 
beaver and he took his little ones for food and 
his skin for clothing and for the lining of his 
wigwam in winter. He set traps for the fox 
and the wolverine in the forest and along the 

174 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


streams. Soon all the animals began to fear 
man, and they fled from before him and hid 
themselves from him. But no matter where or 
how carefully they hid themselves, he found 
them. 

“ In those days there were among the ani¬ 
mals, as among men, great medicine men and 
great enchanters, and the animals said among 
themselves: 

“ ‘ Let our great medicine men and our 
mighty enchanters meet in council once more 
that they may find some way to destroy man 
before he kills us all.’ 

“ And the great medicine men and the 
mighty enchanters of the animals met in coun¬ 
cil, in very secret council, far within the dark 
forest, in the dead of night. Even there they 
were fearful that man might find out what 
they were doing and become still more angiy 
with them and more determined to punish 
them. 

“ The owl presiding said: 

“ ‘ My brothers, you all know why we have 
met together in this secret place far within this 
dark forest. The words of the Great Spirit 
have come true, and man has become our enemy 
and is using all our knowledge against us. The 

175 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 

plans we make, however secret they be, he finds 
out, and he laughs at us for our pains. So 
great is our fear of him that we, the great 
medicine men of our people, scarcely have 
dared to hold this meeting at the dead of night 
deep within the forest far from the home of 
man. But just because we have such fear of 
him is, as you all know, the reason we have 
met here to agree upon some means of getting 
rid of him.’ 

“ The rabbit, who is, as every one knows, a 
great medicine man, spoke first. He said: 

“ ‘ Brothers, we have been foolish enough to 
reveal to man all our good knowledge. But 
the evil knowledge we possess we have kept to 
ourselves. Of this man knows nothing, be¬ 
cause all he knows he has learned from us. 
Let us visit upon him all our evil charms; let 
us work upon him our black magic, our fear¬ 
ful medicine! ’ 

“ All the medicine men thought this a very 
good plan except the chipmunk, who said: 

Brothers, I have always lived close to 
the home of man and he has never done me any 
harm. As you say, he is very powerful. It 
seems to me, therefore, that it would be better 
to make friends with him than to try to do him 

176 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


harm, for if we do he will surely find a way to 
overcome all the evil magic you send against 
him.’ 

This faint-hearted little chipmunk medi¬ 
cine man,’ grumbled the bear, ‘ is like the dog 
whom we have not invited because we know he 
likes a warm place within the wigwam of his 
master better than to share the misfortunes of 
his natural friends.’ 

“ 4 I do not live in the wigwam of man,’ said 
the chipmunk. 

“ ‘ No, but you’d like to if you were not 
afraid of the dog,’ snarled the wolverine. 
4 You’re so little and so useless it isn’t worth 
man’s while to hunt you. He can’t make cloth¬ 
ing of your skin and the meat on your bones 
isn’t worth the picking.’ 

44 All the animals laughed long and loud at 
the wolverine’s witty sally. 

44 4 We haven’t come here to quarrel, broth¬ 
ers,’ said the owl. 4 Let us consider what the 
rabbit has proposed. For my part I think his 
idea is a very good one, and I would like to 
hear what you all think of it? ’ 

44 4 1 know something about evil magic and 
charms,’ said the snake. 4 1 have always main- 

tained that the only way to get good results 

177 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


out of our medicine lodge is to use all the 
power of evil that is in us. I have never had 
any use, as you all well know, for good medi¬ 
cine, and I am glad the rabbit has come around 
to my way of thinking. I don’t think his plan 
is a good one, I know it is.’ 

“ 4 1 am of the same opinion as brother 
snake,’ said the mosquito. 4 I have always fol¬ 
lowed his plan, for I believe in putting some 
sting into my medicine, and I have always 
found it works better than good magic. I vote 
that we try brother rabbit’s plan.’ 

44 4 Yes, let us try brother rabbit’s plan!’ 
shouted all the medicine men together. 

4 4 4 1 am glad you are of my opinion,’ said 
the owl. 4 Now I would like to know just what 
each of you can and will promise to visit upon 
man.’ 

44 The deer, who had been lying in the 
shadow beyond the reach of the heat of the 
fire, which he did not like, arose and, coming 
forward where he could be seen, said: 

44 4 It is true man has become our enemy, and 
a fearful enemy he is. He never lets me rest 
in peace, and every day some of my family 
fall beneath the sure and certain aim of his 

arrows or his spear. We must do everything 

178 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 

we can to break his power over us. The plan 
proposed by the rabbit seems to me, too, to be 
very good, and I promise, for myself and my 
brothers, to help its success by sending upon 
man rheumatism, lumbago and all other 
diseases of the muscles, and to cripple him 
so that he shall not be able to run after us 
swiftly, as he does now, or to aim his spears, 
his darts and his arrows with such deadly cer¬ 
tainty.’ 

And 1/ said the Big Medicine Man of 
All the Reptiles, ‘ promise, for me and mine, 
to visit him with the most fearful dreams, so 
that, when his muscles and his joints are swol¬ 
len with rheumatism, lumbago and other dis¬ 
eases, he may not be able to sleep, and so be¬ 
come weaker from day to day. I will make 
his hand unsteady and his aim still more un¬ 
certain.’ 

“ 4 And I, 5 promised the snake, ‘ who repre¬ 
sent, at this council fire, the poisonous and 
stinging animals, will see to it that they visit 
upon man all the plagues which the Great 
Spirit long ago confided to us. We will sting 
him and bite him till we make him wish he 
were dead.’ 

“ At this every one began to shout and cry 

179 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


and screech and howl with joy; but the owl 
silenced them saying sternly: 

“ 4 Hush! man may hear you.’ 

“ Every one became suddenly silent and 
peered apprehensively into the forest as though 
fearing to see the great enemy coming out of 
its dark depths. 

“ The bald eagle, who had been listening 
gravely to all that passed in the meeting with¬ 
out saying a word, now arose, and speaking 
very slowly and deliberately, said: 

“ ‘ Brothers, I who am the great medicine 
man of all the birds, promise for myself and 
them to trouble man as he never before has 
been troubled. I will send upon him colds to 
fill his lungs, his head and his throat, to shake 
his frame with coughs and to make his bones 
sore with fever.’ 

And I who represent all the insects,’ said 
the mosquito, ‘ promise to aid the good work. 
We will visit upon man all kinds of poisonous 
and malarial diseases so that he shall die of 
them without knowing what is the matter with 
him or being able to fight them; for he can only 
fight what he can lay his hands on since we 
have given him no other knowledge.’ 

“ ‘ I feel sure,’ said the owl, 4 that we have 

180 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


at last found a way not only to conquer man 
but to make him a still more miserable creature 
than he was before we first took pity on him 
and revealed to him our good secrets. If we 
cannot destroy him altogether, we surely can 
make him harmless and force him to allow us to 
live in peace. But if our plan is to succeed, 
every one must do his part without fear or 

pity-’ 

“ All the medicine men having promised 
each to keep his part of the contract, they put 
out the council fire, covered up all traces 
of it most carefully and crept off into the 
forest noiselessly, as had become their habit 
since the last Great Council Fire when the 
Manitu gave them over to the vengeance of 
man. 

“ At once the animals began to visit upon 
man all the evil magic and enchantments their 
wisest medicine men knew. For the first time 
diseases appeared upon earth, for until then 
the animals had kept them shut up and care¬ 
fully guarded. They unloosed them and sent 
them forth, saying: 

“ ‘ Go and do all the harm you can to man, 
for he is killing us and our little ones, and we 
much fear we shall disappear from the earth 

181 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


if something is not done to make of no avail the 
knowledge he has learned from us.’ 

“ Plagues of all kinds fell upon the villages 
of man, and everywhere were pain and suffer¬ 
ing, sickness and death. All night and all day 
men, women and children crooned the death 
song, and so great was the sorrow that had 
come upon them that they no longer cared to 
hunt or fish or plant corn and beans or gather 
wild fruits and rice. 

“ The animals once more roamed the hills, 
the valleys and the forests without fear. And 
much they rejoiced when they met one an¬ 
other, saying: 

You have done very well, brother. Our 
enemy has learned that we have weapons 
greater even than the spears, the darts, the 
clubs, the arrows and the knives which he has 
invented for himself.’ 

“ Of all the animals there were only two 
who felt sorry for man. These were the dog 
and the little chipmunk. The dog remained 

1 / t li e wigwam with man, comforting 

him with his faithful eyes, looking what he 
could not say: 

Master, I am very sorry but I do not 
know what to do to help you.’ 

182 * 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


“ The chipmunk said: 

This thing that the animals have sent 
upon man is very bad. There has never been 
anything nearly so bad as it in the world be¬ 
fore. If some way is not found to help him 
he must soon disappear from the earth.’ 

“ Many hours the chipmunk sat in the for¬ 
est, thinking and thinking, but he could not 
think of any plan to drive away from the vil¬ 
lages of man the terrible magic of the diseases 
the animals had sent into them. He came into 
the edge of the clearing and there he sat in the 
sun at the foot of a great beach tree, and he 
said to himself: 

“ 4 At anv rate man will see that I am still 
his friend and that I have not forgotten him.’ 

“ But man was so taken up with his own 
troubles that he did not notice the little chip¬ 
munk, did not smile on him as he had been ac¬ 
customed to do and call him his good little 
friend. 

“ Late in the afternoon the ground hog 
passed by and the chipmunk called out to him: 

44 4 Where are you going, brother? ’ 

44 4 1 am going down to the ravine,’ an¬ 
swered the ground hog. 

183 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


“ ‘ And why are you going so far away? ’ 
inquired the chipmunk. 

“T do not feel well/ answered the ground 
hog, ‘ and I am going down there to look for 
a certain grass that always cures me when I 
am sick/ 

“ As the ground hog waddled off down the 
hill, the chipmunk thought: 

“‘What a stupid fellow I am! My old 
grandmother told me, long ago, that the great¬ 
est of all medicine men are to be found among 
the trees and flowers of the fields and the for¬ 
ests. I shall go and visit them and see if I 
cannot get them to cure man of all the plagues 
the animals have sent upon him.’ 

“ At once the chipmunk hurried through the 
fields and the forest and invited the trees and 
the flowers to a Great Council Fire that very 
night to be held near his own home, for he 
said: 

“ ‘ There is no danger now of man coming 
suddenly upon us. He has too much trouble 
at home/ 

“ When all the plants and the trees had 
come to the council fire the chipmunk said: 

Cousins, our brother, man, is in very 

great need of help, for the animals have sent 

184 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 

many and great plagues upon him so that his 
sons, his wives and his daughters are all leav¬ 
ing him and going over the long trail to the 
other world. Now one hears nothing in all 
the villages of man but the mournful sound of 
the death song.’ 

‘“We are sorry/ said the swamp elm, ‘ for 
man has never done us any harm. We would 
help him if we could/ 

“ And all the other trees, plants and flowers 
assented: 

No, man has never done us any harm. 
We would help him if we could/ 

You can help him/ said the chip¬ 
munk very emphatically for such a little 
animal. 

“ ‘ And how can we help him? ’ inquired the 
pine doubtfully, for he was inclined to look 
upon the gloomy side of life. 

“ ‘ Among men/ said the chipmunk gravely, 
‘ there are great medicine men. Among the 
animals there are still greater medicine men. 
They have sent their charms and enchantments 
into the villages of man, and there are no medi¬ 
cine men there strong enough to drive them 
out. So man is dying from the evil charms 
and enchantments of the animals. But among 

185 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 

the plants, the trees and the flowers, as my wise 
old grandmother has often assured me, there 
are still greater medicine men than are to be 
found among men or animals.’ 

“ 4 It is true,’ agreed the balsam, 4 that in my 
family there have been very great medicine 
men farther back than our grandfathers could 
remember.’ 

44 4 And in my family, too,’ said the pine. 

44 4 And in mine also,’ cried the spruce. 

44 4 And in mine, too,’ added the solemn 
voice of the slippery elm. 

4 4 4 And mine, and mine, and mine,’ echoed 
plants and flowers, bushes and trees. 

44 4 Well, I see my wise old grandmother 
was not mistaken,’ said the chipmunk, 4 when 
she told me that the greatest of all the medi¬ 
cine men were to be found among the trees, 
the plants and the flowers. And as man 
has alwavs been vour friend and as he 
has always been mine, I would like to hear 
what each of you is willing to do to help 
him.’ 

4 4 4 1 will give him my gum, which is a very 
powerful medicine,’ said the balsam. 

And I will give him mine,’ said the pine. 

“ * And I mine,’ added the spruce. 

186 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


And I’ll give him my yellow bark,’ said 
the willow in a sleepy voice. 

And I mine/ whispered the slippery elm 
in a waterv tone. 

And I’ll lend him my roots/ said the sas¬ 
safras. 

And I’ll give him my apples/ added the 
mandrake. 

And I my berries/ cried the winter- 
green. 

And I’ll make him some tea for his fever 
and his cold/ promised the catnip. 

“ £ And I’ll make him some, too/ volun¬ 
teered the boneset. 

“ 4 And I’ll give him something to warm him 
up when he has the chills,’ said the ginger. 

“ 4 And I’ll help to warm him too,’ said the 
pepper. 

“ 4 I’ll give him a nice, cool, pleasant drink/ 
offered the peppermint. 

“ 4 And I’ll give him something to straighten 
out his system,’ said the sarsaparilla. 

“ 4 And I’ll give him the finest and most ap¬ 
petizing tonic/ promised the gentian. 

44 Thus all the trees, plants, flowers and 
roots offered to help, each in his own wav. 

44 4 1 thank you all, brothers/ said the chip- 

187 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


munk, ‘ for your kindness to our good brother, 
man. Bring your gifts to my house and I will 
take them down to the village at once and give 
them to him.’ 

“ The trees, the plants, the flowers and the 
roots brought each his gift to the house of the 
chipmunk that same evening, and the chip¬ 
munk took them down to the village and gave 
them to man, saying: 

“ 4 1 and my friends, the trees, the plants, the 
flowers and the roots, are sorry to see you suf¬ 
fering from the great magic of the animal 
medicine men who have sent these many 
plagues upon you, your wives and your chil¬ 
dren; and we have brought you all the gifts 
and enchantments known to us that you may 
cure yourself and your family with them.’ 

“ Man took the gifts, saying: 

Thank you, little chipmunk. You are my 
one true friend. You shall always live near to 
my house, and no one shall make you afraid. 
You shall ever take an interest in all that man 
does. Henceforth you, of all the animals, shall 
alone come and go as you please, and no one 
shall do you harm.’ 

“ And since that day it has always been as 
man promised it would. The chipmunk lives 

188 


THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 


in the forest near to the wigwam, and no one 
does him harm or frightens him. Even the 
children playing at hunting in the edge of the 
forest, when they see him, salute him, saying: 

“ 4 Good day, little medicine man! We wish 
you well, for you were the good friend of our 
grandfathers.’ ” 


i 


189 


XI 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 


The mosquitoes were very bad and Orono 
and Rene had lighted fires to the windward of 
the Wigwam in order that the smoke might 
drive them away. Then they had smoked the 
Wigwam itself within by smothering the fire, 
and when they had thus driven the insects out 
they had drawn the coverings tightly over the 
door openings that they might not be able to 
come in again that night. 

“ The mosquitoes have never forgotten the 
death of their mother,” said Rene, as he fed 
the fire with pine wood to make it burn brightly 
once more. 

“Tell us about the mother of the mosqui¬ 
toes, Rene,” said the Lawyer. 

“ It was a very long time ago,” began Rene, 
“ that the Great Mosquito lived in the swamp 
behind the Beaver Meadow, over there toward 

the sunset. This mother of the mosquitoes 

190 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

was a monster animal with a body larger than 
a bear, wings almost as long as a tree, and 
great teeth longer and sharper than arrows. 
It had legs and claws much longer and 
stronger than the king of all the eagles, and 
its bill was like a young pine tree. Swifter 
was it in flight than the loon, and its voice was 
loud as the voice of the Thunder Bird. 

“ Whenever the screech of the Great Mos¬ 
quito was heard or the shadow of her wings 
fell upon the land, the people fled in terror and 
hid themselves behind rocks or in caves, for in 
their homes there was no safety, because, with 
her beak and claws, the monster tore the wig¬ 
wams into pieces and scattered the bark and 
poles far and wide. All the corn fields she 
destroyed in a single night, and with the flashes 
from her eyes she set the dry forest afire. 
Then the people deserted their homes and went 
to live in a great cave, half a day’s journey on 
the other side of the Beaver Meadow. But 
though they were safe there from the Great 
Mosquito, they were in danger of starving, 
since the corn crop had been destroyed and the 
hunters dare not venture forth from the cave 
to hunt. 

“ One day the high sachem called the wise 

191 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

men and the warriors into the council lodge to 
consider what should be done to rid themselves 
of the Great Mosquito. After many plans had 
been proposed and all had been rejected, a 
young chief, who had not yet spoken, arose 
and said: 

“ 4 Fathers and brothers, I had not intended 
to speak at this meeting, for I thought some 
one older and wiser than I would surely pro¬ 
pose an acceptable plan to get rid of our great 
enemy. But since none of the plans offered 
has been pleasing to you all, I should like to 
present one which seems to me to offer a pos¬ 
sibility of success. I present it simply because 
no better plan has been offered. 

4 4 4 Let us dig a deep hole in the earth, wide 
enough for a man to descend into. Let us 
hollow it out into a roomy cavern underneath. 
I will stand at the mouth of the hole and try 
to lasso the Great Mosquito, when she comes 
near, if my brothers will allow me, one of the 
youngest of the braves, to have this honor. I 
shall fasten one end of the lasso round the 
trunk of a tree so that the beast may not be 
able to escape, even if she should catch me be¬ 
fore I have time to drop into the hole.’ 

The plan is very wise for one so young 

192 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

on the trail/ said the sachem; ‘ and to him who 
proposes it belongs the honor of trying it out/ 

“ One party of braves went to dig the hole 
while others were stationed on the cliff above 
to watch for the coming of the Great Mosquito 
and to give warning to the diggers of her ap¬ 
proach. 

“ When the hole had been dug it was cov¬ 
ered over with light twigs and dry grass so as 
to hide it completely. 

“ Fastening one end of his lasso to a great 
maple tree and holding the other looped in his 
hand, the young brave waited the coming of 
the enemy. Three long days he waited, but 
the Great Mosquito did not appear. On the 
morning of the fourth day a broad shadow fell 
upon the earth, covering the mouth of the cave 
in which all the people were hidden. The wait¬ 
ing warrior, seeing the shadow fall upon the 
earth at midday when there was not a cloud in 
the sky, looked upward past the top of the 
high cliff and saw the great insect circling, like 
a hawk, far above the cliff and apparently ex¬ 
amining carefully and minutely the entrance 
to the cave. 

“ 4 She has discovered our hiding place, 

there is no doubt of that/ thought the young 

193 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

warrior; ‘ and we must either kill her or she 
will kill us by starving us, for no one can now 
come out of the cave.’ 

“ He began to shout very loud to attract 
the attention of the mosquito, and soon the 
great beast saw him. Swiftly she circled 
round and round examining him with great 
care. 

“ The young warrior waved his arms and 
shouted his defiance: 

“ ‘ You great, long-legged monster, you are 
a coward and a boaster. You terrify the 
women and the children, but you are afraid to 
come out and fight with a warrior, to face the 
spear and arrows of a warrior! 5 

“ Suddenly, with the swiftness of an eagle, 
the mosquito swept down upon the young 
warrior, and he had scarcely time to cast the 
lasso over its head when it struck him with its 
great claws, tearing his back and his side 
as he dropped through the opening into the 
grotto. 

“ The great beast uttered such a screech of 
hate and rage the earth shook. At once she 
began to scratch up the ground with her eagle¬ 
like claws, but her feet became entangled in 
the lasso. As she flew upward, in an attempt 

194 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

to free herself, the cord upon her neck tight¬ 
ened, and she fell to the earth with a heavy 
thud. 

“ The warriors who had been watching the 
battle from the mouth of the cave rushed out 
and began to attack the struggling beast, which 
fought with terrible fury. First in one direc¬ 
tion and then in the other it half sprang, half 
flew, as far as the lasso about its neck would 
permit. But at each mad effort the cord drew 
tighter and tighter about its throat, until at 
last it fell strangled, its body riddled with ar¬ 
rows, spears and darts. 

“ Two warriors descended into the grotto 
and hoisted the wounded brave out through 
the opening just in time, for he was almost 
dead from loss of blood. They bound up his 
wounds and carried him back to the cave 
while the older braves went ahead, shouting 
his praise and singing, in his honor, songs of 
victory. 

44 The following day all the people held a 
ceremonial dance to the Great Spirit who had 
given them the victory over their enemy. As 
they sang and danced, and beat their drums 
and blew their whistles, the air was suddenly 

darkened by a cloud of tiny mosquitoes that 

195 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

descended upon them and drove them back into 
the cave, at the mouth of which the women and 
the children had built a fire, the smoke from 
which rose in dense clouds. This the mosqui¬ 
toes could not pass. Thousands of them were 
smothered to death by the fire and smoke as 
they tried to enter the cave. 

“ All night the mosquitoes buzzed about the 
mouth of the cave like the sound of the wind 
in the forest. But when the light of the morn¬ 
ing appeared, they fled to the swamp land be¬ 
yond the great Beaver Meadow. 

“ Night after night dense swarms of mos¬ 
quitoes came after sunset, from one direction, 
and disappeared in the opposite direction, in 
the morning. 

“ One afternoon two hunters, returning 
home later than usual, came upon the body of 
the Great Mosquito, which was still lying un¬ 
buried where it had been killed. And they 
saw issuing from it dense swarms of mosqui¬ 
toes. As they ran toward the cave, the mos¬ 
quitoes followed them and stung them so se¬ 
verely they left them half-dead. 

44 The following morning all the people came 
out of the cave and burned the body of the 
Great Mosquito. Since that day the mosqui- 

196 


HOW THE MOSQUITOES CAME 

toes have lived in the swamp lands. They hate 
all living, moving things and they sting them 
whenever they meet them, for they have not 
forgotten the death of their mother, the Great 
Mosquito.’’ 




197 


XII 


SIX-IN-ONE 

The Factor had just finished a story illus¬ 
trative of the difficulties and adventures of an 
administrator of a Hudson Bay Company 
Post. 

“ You have had as many troubles,” said 
Baptiste, “ as the hunter and his four com¬ 
panions who set out to see the most beautiful 
maiden in all the world.” 

“ Did the hunter have charge of a Hudson 
Bay Post? ” inquired the Lawyer with a quiz¬ 
zical smile. 

“ No,” said Baptiste; “ but he covered more 
ground and had more adventures than a fac¬ 
tor.” 

“Tell us about the hunter and his compan¬ 
ions, Baptiste,” said the Factor. 

“ Yes, tell us about the hunter and his four 
companions who set out to see the most beau¬ 
tiful maiden in all the world,” urged the Law¬ 
yer. 

“It is a sort of two-in-one, like the shoe 

198 


SIX-IN-ONE 


polish,” said Baptiste. “ When I have finished 
it you shall tell me if I have made a shine. 

“ Once upon a time there lived in a far-off 
land a maiden so beautiful that young men and 
old men, warriors and hunters came from far 
and near to seek her hand in marriage. 
Among her suitors were so many handsome 
and clever young men she could not make up 
her mind which to marry. 

My husband must be strong and swift of 
foot,’ she said. ‘ I shall set three tests for my 
suitors which shall try their strength, their 
swiftness and their appetite.’ 

“ A young hunter from a far distant country 
heard of the beautiful maiden and the tests, 
and he said to himself: 

“ ‘ I will go and see her and if she is as beau¬ 
tiful as report says she is, I shall marry her 
and bring her home.’ 

“ So one day he set out for the land of the 
beautiful maiden. As he was traveling along, 
he came to a man who was sitting on a fallen 
tree trunk and tying great stones to his ankles. 

“ ‘ Why are you tying stones to your feet? ’ 
inquired the hunter. 

“ £ I am the Swift-one,’ answered the man. 
‘ I have come out to hunt buffalo. I always 

199 


SIX-IN-ONE 


tie stones to my feet when I do that. For you 
see, when I once begin to run, I run so swiftly 
I always pass the buffaloes before I can stop 
myself. If I didn’t tie stones to my feet, I’d 
never catch them.’ 

“ ‘ Well, never mind the buffaloes now,’ said 
the hunter. ‘ You can hunt them at any time. 
I am going to visit the most beautiful maiden 
in all the world. Come along with me.’ 

“ The Swift-one and the hunter traveled to¬ 
gether all that day and part of the next, when 
they came upon a man gazing into the sky. 
They stopped and looked at him for a while. 
But he never took his eyes from the clouds. 

“ ‘ What do you see in the sky? ’ inquired 
the hunter. 

44 ‘ I don’t see anything,’ answered the man. 

“ ‘ Then why are you looking up there? ’ 

U ‘I shot an arrow up into the sky this morn¬ 
ing,’ said the man, 4 and I have been waiting 
ever since for it to come down.’ 

Never mind your arrow,’ said the hunter. 
4 We are going to see the handsomest maiden 
in all the world. Come along with us.’ 

4 4 4 I have heard of this very beautiful 
maiden,’ said the Strong-one, 4 and I would 
like to see her. So I will go along with you.’ 

200 


SIX-IN-ONE 


44 The hunter, the Swift-one and the Strong- 
one traveled together all that day, and about 
noon the following day they came upon a man 
who was kneeling and drinking water from a 
lake. They stopped and watched him for a 
while, but he went on drinking. He never 
seemed to get enough. 

“ ‘ Why are you drinking so much? ’ asked 
the hunter. 4 You must be very thirsty.’ 

“ 4 Yes, I am,’ said the man. 4 I am the 
Thirsty-one. I drank one lake dry yesterday. 
I am going to drink this one dry to-day, and 
when I have finished with it I am going to 
drink the water out of another a little farther 
on.’ 

“ 4 Well, never mind the lake now,’ said the 
hunter. 4 You can drink it dry some other 
time. We are going to see the handsomest 
maiden in all the world. Come along with 
us! ’ 

44 4 1 have heard of the handsome maiden,’ 
said the Thirsty-one, 4 and I should like to see 
her, so I’ll go with you.’ 

44 The hunter, the Swift-one, the Strong-one 
and the Thirsty-one traveled together all that 
day, and the following day they came upon a 
man who was lying with his ear to the ground. 

201 


SIX-IN-ONE 


He paid no attention to them. In fact, he ap¬ 
peared as if he had not noticed them. 

“ ‘ What are you doing with your ear to the 
ground ? 5 inquired the hunter. 

“ ‘ I am the Far-hearing-one/ said the man; 
‘ and I am listening to the grasses, the flowers 
and the trees growing. Just put your ear 
down here and listen. You can hear them ever 
so plainly.’ 

“ ‘ Never mind listening to the grasses, the 
flowers and the trees just now,’ said the hunter. 
‘ You can listen to them at any time. We are 
going to visit the handsomest maiden in all the 
world. Come along with us! ’ 

“ ‘ I have heard of the handsome maiden,’ 
said the Far-seeing-one, 4 and I should very 
much like to see her, so I will go along with 
you.’ 

“ So the hunter, the Swift-one, the Strong- 
one, the Thirsty-one and the Far-hearing-one 
traveled together all that day, and about noon 
the following day they came to the village of 
the Handsome Maiden. 

“ All the people of the village crowded about 
them, laughing and jeering at them. 

“ ‘ Do you think you can win our beautiful 
maiden? ’ they asked. ‘ Why the handsomest, 

202 


SIX-IN-ONE 


the strongest, the swiftest and the most famous 
young men in all the world have already come 
here to win her, and the}^ have all gone away 
without her, for there was not one among 
them all who could perform the tasks she set 
them.’ 

“ ‘ I’m going to try,’ said the hunter. 

“ ' You! ' laughed the people. ‘ Why, 
you’re the slowest, the weakest and the most 
unlikely looking of the whole party. You’d 
better go back home, for you haven’t the least 
show in the world.’ 

“ The hunter never answered even by a 
word, but left them still laughing and mocking 
him. He went straight to the wigwam of the 
Handsome Maiden. When he saw her he said 
to himself: 

“ ‘ She is handsomer than I ever thought any 
one in all the world could be. I shall surely 
have her for my wife.’ 

“ In front of the village was an enormous 
rock so high it completely shut out the light of 
the sun and shadowed the whole place summer 
and winter. 

“ Standing in the shadow of this great rock, 
the maiden thought, as she looked at the young 
hunter: 


203 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ ‘ He is the handsomest of all the young 
men who have come to marry me. I wish he 
were stronger, swifter and more capable 
looking, so that he might have a chance of 
performing the tasks I have set for my 
suitors.’ 

“ The more she looked at him the sorrier she 
was that she had set the tests and sent notice 
of them all over the land. But now that she 
had done so and that she had made it known 
far and wide that no one should become her 
husband who could not perform them all, she 
could not go back on her word. So she said 
to the young hunter: 

“ ‘ Go and roll away this great rock that 
shuts out the light of the sun from the village! ’ 

“ The hunter turned without a word and 
walked out of the village sad at heart, for he 
thought: 

“ ‘ Surely there never was born any one 
strong enough to move this great rock whose 
shadow is large enough to shut out the light of 
the sun from a whole village? ’ 

“ As he went on his way, the people laughed 
and jeered at him again, saying: 

“ ‘ See, the brave and strong one, the invin¬ 
cible one, who was surely going to win our 

204 


SIX-IN-ONE 


Handsome Maiden, has given her up already 
without ever attempting to perform her first 
test! ’ 

“ Answering never a word he went on to 
where his companions were sitting on the 
ground at the edge of the village, for no one 
had invited them to come in, they were so tired 
of seeing suitors coming and going day after 
day. 

Have you seen the Handsome Maiden? ’ 
they all inquired together. 

“ ‘ I have,’ said the hunter. 

And is she as handsome as the people say 
she is? ’ inquired the Swift-one. 

Yes; she is the handsomest woman in all 
the world,’ replied the hunter very sorrowfully. 

“ ‘ And you are going to win her! ’ said the 
F ar-hearing-one. 

“'I cannot do the impossible,’ answered the 
hunter, shaking his head. 

“ ‘ What is there that is impossible? ’ in¬ 
quired the Strong-one with sudden interest. 

“ 4 The task the Handsome Maiden has set 
me is altogether impossible,’ said the hunter. 

“ ‘ And what is this impossible task that the 
Handsome Maiden has set you? ’ asked the 

Strong-one with still greater interest. 

205 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ ‘ She has ordered me to roll away this great 
rock whose shadow shuts out the light of the 
sun from the village. All the men in the world 
together could not move it. It is quite impos¬ 
sible.’ 

“ ‘ No, it’s not/ said the Strong-one. ‘ I’ll 
give it a little shove for you.’ 

“ He put his shoulder to the rock and away 
it rolled, thundering and grinding down the 
mountain side into the valley below, and at 
once the light of the sun streamed into the 
village. 

“All the people of the village — men, 
women and children, young and old — beat 
their drums, blew their whistles and shouted 
they were so glad, saying: 


“ ‘ Mighty is this stranger; 

Strongest of all the young men; 
Strongest of all the old men. 
Mighty is he as Kwasind, 
Strongest of all the strong men ! 9 


“ Followed by the singing and shouting 
people, the young hunter returned to the wig¬ 
wam of the Handsome Maiden and said to 
her: 


206 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ 4 As you see, the rock is rolled away.’ 

“ ‘ I am very glad,’ she answered. 4 This is 
a much more pleasant place now. I hope 
you may be as fortunate with my remaining 
tests/ 

“ She thought, 4 How handsome he is and 
how strong he must be! ’ 

“ She said aloud, 4 1 always give a dinner to 
my suitors. But if you want to marry me you 
must eat and drink everything that is set be¬ 
fore you/ 

4 4 4 1 have four friends who have made the 
journey with me to see the handsomest maiden 
in all the world/ said the hunter. 4 May I not 
have them dine with me? ’ 

44 He looked so handsome the Beautiful One 
could not say no. So the hunter, the Swift- 
one, the Strong-one, the Thirsty-one and the 
Far-hearing-one sat down together to the din¬ 
ner in the village lodge of the invited guests 
of honor. 

44 When the hunter looked at the immense 
mass of food he said: 

44 4 No one can ever eat all that in his life¬ 
time/ 

44 4 That is very little/ said the Strong-one. 

‘ I could eat much more than that myself/ 

207 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ When the hunter saw all there was to 
drink he said: 

“‘No one could drink all that, if he were to 
live the length of a dozen lives.’ 

“ ‘ That’s very little,’ said the Thirsty-one. 
‘ Why, it wouldn’t make even a tiny lake; and 
I drink up one or two big lakes every day of 
my life, when I can find them.’ 

“ The Strong-one ate so fast and so much 
there was not enough left for the others, and 
the Thirsty-one drank so fast and such enor¬ 
mous quantities that there was not enough drink 
to go round, so they had to send for more food 
and drink. This they did several times until 
all the food had been eaten and all the drink 
drunk there was in the village, and still neither 
the Strong-one nor the Thirsty-one had had 
enough. 

“ ‘ They certainly have very good appetites 
in my suitor’s country,’ thought the Handsome 
One. 

“ The hunter came to her wigwam and said: 

“ ‘ Everything has been eaten and every¬ 
thing has been drunk.’ 

“ ‘ I am very glad,’ said the Handsome One. 
‘ I have but one test left. But I must warn 

you that it is much more difficult than either of 

208 


SIX-IN-ONE 


the two you have just met. Yet you are so 
strong and have such a good appetite I hope 
you may be able to do it. 

“ ‘ In our Village there is a young woman 
who is such a wonderfully swift runner that 
the people have called her the Wind Woman. 
She has run against all the most famous run¬ 
ners from far and near, and no one has been 
able to win a race from her. But whoever 
marries me must not be so slow as to be out¬ 
run bv a woman. 

“ ‘ It would not be fair to ask you to run a 
race with such a runner after a dinner such as 
you have just had. So we will put the test off 
until to-morrow morning. Go and rest well, 
for I want to see you win this last test,’ she 
said very earnestly. 

“ As the young hunter went back to his com¬ 
panions he thought: 

“ ‘ I shall never win this test, for I am not 
a very swift runner; so how can I expect to 
outrun a woman who has beaten the swiftest 
runners from far and near? ’ 

“ It was with a very sad face that he joined 
his friends. 

“‘Why do you look so sorrowful?’ asked 

the Far-hearing-one. ‘ You have already won 

209 


SIX-IN-ONE 


two contests and you must surely win the 
third/ 

“ 4 I shall surely lose the third test, and then 
of what use will it be to me to have won the 
other two? ’ said the hunter; 4 for I have to run 
a race against the Wind Woman, the swiftest 
runner in all the world. No one has ever 
beaten her, and every one says no one can beat 
her. I certainly cannot, for I am not a swift 
runner. But if I don’t, the Handsome One will 
not marry me, for she says she will not have 
for a husband a man who cannot outrun a 
woman.’ 

Oh, don’t bother so much about the mat¬ 
ter,’ said the Swift-one. 4 It’s very easy. I’ll 
run the race for you and I’ll win it too. I 
have never yet met any one who could keep 
me in sight when I got started in earnest.’ 

4 4 4 I do not doubt that,’ said the hunter, 4 but 
this race is to be run in the open where the 
whole village can see it. You can’t take my 
place without every one knowing it. So your 
winning the race will not make me the husband 
of the Handsome One.’ 

That’s quite easy, too,’ said the Far-hear¬ 
ing-one. 4 Go to the Handsome One and say 
to her: 


210 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ ‘ “ If I am to run this race, I must have my 
own people manage it.” 

“ ‘ If she agrees, which of course she will, 
for she wants to see you win the test, why then 
you must say to her: 

“ ‘ “ I want the Far-hearing-one to take 
charge of the race and my other companions to 
help him, for they alone know how to manage 
a race as swift as this is going to be. What¬ 
ever conditions the Far-hearing-one makes you 
must promise to agree to.” ’ 

“ So the hunter went to the Handsome One 
and said: 

“ ‘ If I am to run this race I must have my 
own people manage it.’ 

“ 4 That is a very unusual request/ said the 
Handsome One. 4 But you have already been 
successful in two tests, and I want you to win 
this, too, so do as you please.’ 

“ 4 Then I shall have the Far-hearing-one 
take charge of the race with the others to help 
him. I leave everything to them, and what¬ 
ever conditions the Far-hearing-one makes you 
must agree to.’ 

44 4 Do as you please,’ said the Handsome 
One. 4 But remember that I, too, have one 
condition to impose. This race must be run in 

211 


SIX-IN-ONE 


the open where every one can see it. For such 
is the custom of our people since the days of 
our ancestors/ 

“ ‘ Your condition shall be observed/ prom¬ 
ised the hunter. 

“ When the young man returned to his com¬ 
panions, the Far-hearing-one inquired: 

“ ‘ Did she agree to the conditions? ’ 

“ ‘ Yes, she has agreed to the conditions/ 
said the hunter. 

“ ‘ Then/ said the Far-hearing-one, 4 to-mor¬ 
row we must all come to the race meeting place 
dressed alike. Do this and I will arrange 
everything else/ 

“ The following morning the Far-hearing- 
one went to the wigwam of the Handsome One 
and said to her: 

“ ‘ I have come to arrange the race for my 
friend/ 

“‘Well, arrange it!’ said the Handsome 
One, smiling upon him in a very friendly 
way. 

“ ‘ I want every one to stand far back from 
the winning post/ said the Far-hearing-one; 
‘ for, when our runner gets started in earnest 
nothing can stop him. He can’t even stop him¬ 
self. It is his custom, as he always goes far 

212 


SIX-IN-ONE 


beyond the goal, when he has finished the race, 
to run in a circle, so that by the time he has 
slowed up he is back at the winning post. As 
he cannot stop or turn suddenly to the right or 
to the left while he is running at high speed, he 
is in danger of running over people and badly 
hurting or killing them. So room must be 
made for him. The way to do this is to have 
all the people sit on the mountain side above 
the great hole where our runner has torn out 
the overshadowing rock. This is close enough 
so that they will be able to see the race better 
than anywhere else, and yet be in no danger 
of getting hurt. It is a good place for another 
reason. Our runner runs so swiftly that it will 
be impossible to view the race from the low 
level of the village, since the runners will 
scarcely be in sight before they shall have 
passed the winning post. But from the heights 
above they can be seen from afar off.’ 

“ 4 Then your runner is really very swift? ’ 
said the Handsome One, much pleased. 

“ ‘ So swift/ said the Far-hearing-one, ‘ that 
when he goes hunting the buffalo, he has to 
tie stones to his ankles to keep him from run¬ 
ning past them.’ 

“ ‘ I shall send all the people to the top of 

213 


SIX-IN-ONE 

the cliff until the race is over,’ said the Hand¬ 
some One. 

“ 4 Our runner must have a sweat house to 
go into after the race,’ said the Far-hearing- 
one, ‘ and the sweat house must be close to the 
winning post.’ 

“ 4 1 shall order the race course to be laid out 
so that the winning post shall be close to the 
sweat house,’ promised the Handsome One, 
for she was very anxious to have the hunter 
win the race, and she had begun to hope that he 
would. 

Our runner is anxious that you should 
see the race, or as much of it as possible,’ said 
the Far-hearing-one. 4 Will you not view it 
from the cliff above? There is no other place 
from which you can see so well, and we feel 
you will be anxious to know how it is coming 
out.’ 

44 The Handsome One was very much 
pleased at this thoughtfulness on the part of 
the Far-hearing-one, and she said: 

The idea is excellent. I wonder I did not 
think of it before. I shall have all future races 
run in this way.’ 

44 The race course was laid out across the 
level country for some distance, then straight 

214 


SIX-IN-ONE 


up the mountain side and over the hilly coun¬ 
try, then back home again over the same trail. 
From their seats on the top of the cliff the 
Handsome One and her people could see a 
long stretch of the beginning and the same 
distance of the finish. But what they could see 
was only a very small part of the course, after 
all, for the whole course was so long that a 
swift runner could not run over it in a day. 
The Wind Woman had laid it out long because 
she was such a swift runner, and she had 
stretched it up the mountain side because she 
ran as well up hill as down. 

“ When the Handsome One and all her peo¬ 
ple had taken their seats on the cliff, the Far- 
seeing-one gave the signal and the runners 
started off very swiftly across the great 
meadow that lay between the village and the 
mountains. Side by side they ran, for the 
Wind Woman wished to tire her opponent out 
and to leave him behind at the start. Try as 
he would the Swift-one could not gain an inch 
on her, but he thought: 

“ 4 I’ll pass her when we turn to come down 
the mountains, for I do not run well up hill 
but no one can beat me running on the level 
or down hill.’ 


215 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ The Wind Woman was running so fast 
she began to get tired. She looked anxiously 
at the Swift-one who seemed to be running 
very easily. So she thought: 

“ 4 I must find some way to trick him, for 
he certainly is a very fast runner, and he may 
pass me on the return trail since I do not run 
any better down hill than up.’ 

44 When they reached the turning post far 
up among the mountains the Wind Woman 
said: 

‘“We have run so very swiftly we have been 
but a little while getting here, and as the return 
trail is down hill all the way we will be able 
to go back faster than we came. Let us rest 
here a while so as not to have the race too short, 
and also to make the people a little anxious 
about us.’ 

“ ‘ Very well/ agreed the Swift-one. 4 What 
you say is quite true, for I run very much 
faster down hill than up, so we will soon cover 
the return trail/ 

“ The Wind Woman and the Swift-one sat 
down together on the mountain top to rest and 
to talk. This was exactly what the woman 
wanted, for she was a very great witch and 

magician. She began at once to cast her en- 

216 


SIX-IN-ONE 


chantments on the Swift-one. She waved her 
arms in the air as though she were trying to 
rest them after her long race, and at the mystic 
sign the little Sleep People came and began to 
shoot their arrows into the Swift-one who at 
once became drowsier and drowsier. Soon he 
was sound asleep. 

“ Then the Wind Woman, laughing a shrill 
laugh like the shriek of the tempest, began to 
run down the mountain trail as fast as she 
could. 

“ When the Wind Woman and the Swift- 
one stopped to rest on the mountain side, the 
Far-hearing-one, who had his ear to the 
ground, said: 

“ ‘ They have stopped running. They are 
resting. They must be very tired.’ 

“ But the hunter said, laughing: 

“ 4 Who ever heard of people resting in a 
race?’ 

“‘But they are resting,’ insisted the Far- 
hearing-one, ‘for I cannot hear the beat of 
their feet on the trail.’ 

“ ‘ They have gone so far that you cannot 
hear them,’ suggested the Thirsty-one. 

“ ‘ No, it is not that,’ said the Far-hearing- 
one very positively. ‘ They have certainly 

217 


SIX-IN-ONE 


stopped to rest. I shall tell you when they 
begin the race again.’ 

44 He lay for some time with his ear to the 
ground and the others waited anxiously. Sud¬ 
denly the Far-hearing-one sprang up, ex¬ 
citedly shouting: 

“ ‘ The Swift-one is sleeping. I hear his 
heavy breathing. The woman is laughing with 
joy. She has put him to sleep with her en¬ 
chantment. Now she is running back down 
the home trail. I know it is she that is run¬ 
ning, for her footsteps are lighter than those 
of the Swift-one. She is certainly running 
alone, for I can hear the footsteps of only 
one.’ 

44 4 What shall we do? We must surely lose 
the race! ’ exclaimed the hunter. 

4 4 4 I’ll wake up the Swift-one,’ said the 
Strong-one. 

44 He shot an arrow in the direction the rac¬ 
ers had run. 

44 The Far-hearing-one, who had again 
placed his ear to the ground, exclaimed: 

The arrow has struck him in the ear and 
he has jumped up as though a bee had stung 
him. Now he is rubbing his ear. I can hear 

him ever so plainly. Now he is looking around 

218 


SIX-IN-ONE 


for the woman. I can hear him moving his 
head and his eyes. Now he is running swiftly 
down the trail after her. He is taking very 
long steps down the mountain side. But the 
Wind Woman is very far ahead and he will 
have to run wonderfully fast to catch up with 
her. 5 

“ In the meantime the people on the cliff 
sat waiting anxiously for the appearance of 
the racers. Suddenly some one more far¬ 
sighted than the others cried: 

“ 4 Here comes the Wind Woman! ’ 

“ Then another shouted excitedly: 

“ ‘ Yes, here comes the Wind Woman ! 9 

“ Then the first cried: 

“ ‘ The hunter is so far behind that he is not 
even in sight! ’ 

“ At this the Handsome One sprang up, and 
putting her hand over her eyes to see the bet¬ 
ter, for the sun was shining straight down the 
trail, looked anxiously in the direction from 
which the runners were expected to appear. 
The Wind Woman was ahead and running 
swiftly; but far up the highlands she caught 
sight of the Swift-one. He was coming won¬ 
derfully fast with great steps down the moun¬ 
tains. But surely he could never overtake the 

219 


SIX-IN-ONE 


Wind Woman, she was so far ahead and run¬ 
ning so swiftly! 

“ As the Wind Woman started down the 
last mountain slope, all the people began to 
shout and to call to her encouragingly though 
she was still so far off she could not hear them. 
They were all very glad, for she was their 
runner. 

“ But the Handsome One was not in the 
least pleased to see the Wind Woman ahead. 
There was a very troubled look on her face as 
she thought: 

“ ‘ Surely the race is lost and there will never 
again come such a handsome and clever suitor! ’ 

“ Now the Wind Woman has left the moun¬ 
tain and she is rushing swiftly across the level 
country toward the beaver meadow. But the 
Swift-one has gained much upon her. Now 
they are close to the beaver meadow, and the 
Swift-one has gained still more. But yet he 
is far behind. Now every one on the cliff is 
standing watching the racers excitedly. How 
the Wind Woman flies! Never was there such 
a woman runner as she! But the Swift-one is 
gaining! Now he is close to her, but she is 
not far from the winning post! No one can 

run any faster than they are now running, and 

220 


SIX-IN-ONE 


the Swift-one cannot overtake the Wind 
Woman in time to win the race! But see! He 
is running as he never ran before. So fast he 
goes one cannot see his legs moving, and each 
step he takes is longer than the longest tree. 
He is gaining fast upon the Wind Woman! 
Almost at the winning post he shoots past her 
swifter than an arrow in its flight; but so 
swiftly he is running he cannot stop. See he 
is returning in a wide circle to the winning 
post! 

“ The people on the cliff watched him almost 
without breathing until he had completed the 
great circle and had slowed down at the sweat 
house. Then they all rushed down together 
on to the plain, shouting the praises of the won¬ 
derful runner the like of whom had never be¬ 
fore been seen in all the land. They had 
forgotten all about the Witch Woman, and 
those who did remember her were glad she 
had been beaten, for she had shamed all 
the men of the village, and they hated her 
for it. 

“ The women said: 

“ ‘ This stranger is a very good runner and 
a very proper husband for our chief’s daughter 

who is already past the age when a woman 

221 


SIX-IN-ONE 


should get married. She is fortunate to get 
such a handsome and clever husband after 
waiting so long.’ 

“ In the meantime the Swift-one had dis¬ 
appeared within the wigwam which the Hand¬ 
some One had set apart for the use of the 
strangers, and the hunter had crawled into the 
sweat house. So when the people, rushing 
down from the cliff, inquired: 

“ 4 Where is the winner of the race? ’ the 
Thirsty-one answered: 

“ ‘ He has gone into the sweat house. This 
he does always after a race like this, and in 
this way he preserves his swiftness.’ 

“ Every young warrior and hunter thought: 

“ ‘ I shall go into a sweat house after my 
next race. It is a very good way to preserve 
one’s swiftness.’ 

“ After the proper time in the sweat house 
the hunter came out looking as fresh as though 
he had never run a race (as indeed he had not) ; 
and the people accompanied him to the wig¬ 
wam of the Handsome One, and there they 
left him, saying: 

We have brought you your husband.’ 

And a very good husband you have 
brought me,’ said the Handsome One. 

222 


SIX-IN-ONE 


“ 4 Yes indeed, a very good husband!’ said 
all the people together.” 

“ And a very good story, Baptiste,” said 
the Factor. 

“You certainly have made a shine, Bap¬ 
tiste,” said the Lawyer; “ and you have given 
us a story with six star actors in one caste. I 
should call it 4 Six-in-one.’ ” 


x 


223 


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